Systems and methods for automatically detecting users within detection regions of media devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are presented for detecting users within a range of a media device. A detection region may be defined that is within the range of the media device and smaller than the range. The detection region may be stored. It may be determined whether a user is within the detection region. The media device may be activated and settings associated with the user may be applied when a user is within the detection region. In some embodiments, settings associated with a user may be compared to provided media content when the user is within the detection region. The content may change when the settings conflict with the media content. Reminders may be provided to or directed to a plurality of users within the range of the media device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/662,035, filed Mar. 18, 2015, currently allowed, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/565,486, filed Sep.23, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,014,546, the disclosure of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to interactive media guidance applications andmore particularly to automatic detection and identification of usersnear media devices.

Traditional systems allow a user to manually log into media devices toallow access to the user's profile. In many cases, however, users maynot log in due to the inconvenience of affirmatively logging into themedia device. Furthermore, traditional systems generally only allow oneuser to be logged into a device at any given time. When multiple usersare accessing content on a media device, the content may be tailored toat most one user, for example, the one user who affirmatively loggedinto the device. Therefore, traditional systems are ineffective attargeting and tailoring content to users in many situations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide systems andmethods for allowing users to be detected and identified by a mediadevice automatically. In particular, it would be desirable to provide asystem that automatically logs a user into the media device when theuser is identified by the device so that the device may more effectivelytailor content to that user. It may also be desirable to allow the userto move from one device to another device and continue seamlesslyaccessing content at each of the devices without requiring the user toaffirmatively login into the devices and/or select content to access onthe devices. Seamless access of content may allow a user to continueaccessing content across multiple devices and/or times substantiallyautomatically (e.g., requires little to no manual input and/or action onthe part of the user) and/or with substantially no discontinuity. It mayalso be desirable to automatically detect and identify multiple users ata media device so that content may be more effectively tailored to allusers that are simultaneously utilizing a media device.

A media device having a detection mechanism may be provided. Thedetection mechanism is operable to detect a first user within a rangerelative to the media device. A detection region that is within therange may be defined. It may be determined whether the first user iswithin the detection region. Upon detecting a first user within thedetection region, the media device may be activated. First settingsassociated with the first user may be applied when the first user iswithin the detection region. Content may be provided that is based onthe first settings associated with the first user. When the first useris outside the detection region, but still within the range, theapplication of the first settings may be stopped.

A second user may be determined to be within the detection region.Second settings associated with the second user may be applied to themedia device. In some embodiments, the settings associated with thefirst user and second user may be combined to create third settings.Media content may be provided based on the third settings. The mediacontent may be, for example, advertisements that are targeted to thecombination of the first and second users using the third settings.

In some embodiments, it may be determined that the first user is nolonger within the detection region. The third settings may be modifiedso that it is based only on settings associated with users who remainwithin detection regions within the first detectable range. Anothermedia content may be provided based on the modified third settings.

In some embodiments, it may be determined that the first user returnedwithin a detection region of the media device. The media content may bechanged back to original media content that was provided before thefirst user left the media device and may be provided from a point in theoriginal media content where it was determined that the first user wasno longer within the detection region.

In some embodiments, it may be determined that the first user went toanother media device after leaving the detection region of the originalmedia device. For example, the first user may be determined to be withina second detection region, wherein the second detection region is withina range relative to a second media device. The media content that wasprovided on the original media device may be continued on the new mediadevice. In some embodiments, the activities of the first user may becommunicated back to the original media device.

In some embodiments, boundaries of detection regions associated withmultiple devices may be configured. For example, two devices may beassociated with detectable ranges that overlap. The overlapping of theranges may be determined by the media devices. Detection regionsassociated with the respective devices may be set such that theboundaries of the regions remain within the detectable range of therespective device without protruding into the detectable range of theother device.

In some embodiments, media content that is provided on a media devicemay be changed when properties of the media content conflict withsettings that are associated with a user. The media device may beprovided with a detection mechanism that is operable to detect a userwithin a range relative to the media device. A detection regionassociated with the media device may be set. A first media content maybe provided to the first user who is within the first detection region.A second user may be detected within the range relative to the mediadevice. Second settings that are associated with the second user may becompared with properties of the first media content. The first mediacontent may be changed when the second setting conflict with theproperties of the first media content. Otherwise, the second user may beadded to a list of active users at the media device when the second useris within the first detection region.

In some embodiments, reminders may be provided to one or more of theusers within a range of a media device. For example, the media devicemay detect a plurality of uses within a detection region that isassociated with the media device. The plurality of users are logged intothe media device and considered active users when they are detectedwithin the detection region. A first media content may be provided tothe active users. A reminder that is associated with a first and seconduser of the plurality of users may be provided to remind the activeusers of a second media content. The reminder may provide an indicationwhether some or all of the plurality users would probably like ordislike the reminded content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show illustrative display screens that may be used toprovide media guidance application listings in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative media device in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative cross-platform interactive mediasystem in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative display of a multiple-user use and accessconfiguration menu in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative display of a detection configuration menu inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative display of a user authorization/restrictionconfiguration menu in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative display of an active multiple-user policyconfiguration menu in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative display of active and detected users inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative display of options provided upon userdetection at a media device in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative display of options provided when a user is nolonger detected at a media device in accordance with another embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative display of active and returning users inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative display of options provided when a parentalcontrol conflict is detected in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 14 is an illustrative display of a reminder for users of a mediadevice in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary event log for a media device in accordancewith another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 shows an exemplary user data structure in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is an illustrative process for detecting users in accordancewith another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is an illustrative process for supporting actions a device maymake after detection of users in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 19 is an illustrative process for supporting actions a device maymake after performing a parental control conflict check in accordancewith another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 20 is an illustrative process for supporting actions a device maymake when a user is no longer within the detection region of a device inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The amount of media available to users in any given media deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate media selections and easily identify media that they maydesire. An application which provides such guidance is referred toherein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, amedia guidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof media content including conventional television programming (providedvia traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, or other means),as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as invideo-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming media,downloadable media, Webcasts, etc.), and other types of media or videocontent. Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among andlocate content related to the video content including, for example,video clips, articles, advertisements, chat sessions, games, etc.Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among and locatemultimedia content. The term multimedia is defined herein as media andcontent that utilizes at least two different content forms, such astext, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity contentforms. Multimedia content may be recorded and played, displayed oraccessed by information content processing devices, such as computerizedand electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance. Itshould be understood that the invention embodiments that are discussedin relation to media content are also applicable to other types ofcontent, such as video, audio and/or multimedia, and/or any othersuitable type of media and/or content.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on personal computers (PCs)and other devices on which they traditionally did not, such as hand-heldcomputers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, orother mobile devices. On these devices users are able to navigate amongand locate the same media available through a television. Consequently,media guidance is necessary on these devices, as well. The guidanceprovided may be for media content available only through a television,for media content available only through one or more of these devices,or for media content available both through a television and one or moreof these devices. The media guidance applications may be provided ason-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-aloneapplications or clients on hand-held computers, PDAs, mobile telephones,or other mobile devices. These devices and/or any other suitable devicescapable of presenting images, text, audio content, video content, or anycombination thereof may be referred to as a media device herein. Thevarious devices and platforms that may implement media guidanceapplications are described in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia listings and media information to users. FIGS. 1-2 showillustrative display screens that may be used to provide media guidance,and in particular media listings. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-2and 5-14 may be implemented on any suitable device or platform. Whilethe displays of FIGS. 1-2 and 5-14 are illustrated as full screendisplays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over mediacontent being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access mediainformation by selecting a selectable option provided in a displayscreen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink,etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remotecontrol or other user input interface or device. In response to theuser's indication, the media guidance application may provide a displayscreen with media information organized in one of several ways, such asby time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by media type, bycategory (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of mediacontent in a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1)a column of channel/media type identifiers 104, where each channel/mediatype identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or media type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers 106,where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies atime block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming provided accordingto a schedule, the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming which is not provided according to a schedule.Non-linear programming may include content from different media sourcesincluding on-demand media content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored media content(e.g., video content stored on a digital video recorder (DVR), digitalvideo disc (DVD), video cassette, compact disc (CD), etc.), or othertime-insensitive media content. On-demand content may include bothmovies and original media content provided by a particular mediaprovider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “Curb YourEnthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming media or downloadable media through anInternet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide listings for non-linear programming includingon-demand listing 114, recorded media listing 116, and Internet contentlisting 118. A display combining listings for content from differenttypes of media sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media”display. The various permutations of the types of listings that may bedisplayed that are different than display 100 may be based on userselection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of onlyrecorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings,etc.). As illustrated, listings 114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanningthe entire time block displayed in grid 102 to indicate that selectionof these listings may provide access to a display dedicated to on-demandlistings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively. Inother embodiments, listings for these media types may be includeddirectly in grid 102. Additional listings may be displayed in responseto the user selecting one of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing anarrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similarmanner as selecting navigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the presentinvention.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for media content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming and/or access to a device), is currently available forviewing, will be available for viewing in the future, or may neverbecome available for viewing, and may correspond to or be unrelated toone or more of the media listings in grid 102. Advertisement 124 mayalso be for products or services related or unrelated to the mediacontent displayed in grid 102. Advertisement 124 may be selectable andprovide further information about media content, provide informationabout a product or a service, enable purchasing of media content, aproduct, or a service, provide media content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over media content or aguidance application display or embedded within a display.

Advertisements may also include text, images, rotating images, videoclips, or other types of media content. Advertisements may be stored inthe user equipment with the guidance application, in a databaseconnected to the user equipment, in a remote location (includingstreaming media servers), or on other storage means or a combination ofthese locations. Providing advertisements in a media guidanceapplication is discussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson etal., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0110499, publishedJun. 12, 2003, Ward, I I I et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun.29, 2004, and Schein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14,2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties. It will be appreciated that advertisements may be includedin other media guidance application display screens of the presentinvention.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types of mediacontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens of the present invention), or may be invoked by auser by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated orassignable button on a user input device. The selectable options withinoptions region 126 may concern features related to program listings ingrid 102 or may include options available from a main menu display.Features related to program listings may include searching for other airtimes or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enablingseries recording of a program, setting program and/or channel as afavorite, purchasing a program, or other features. Options availablefrom a main menu display may include search options, VOD options,parental control options, access to various types of listing displays,subscribe to a premium service, edit a user's profile, access a browseoverlay, multiple-user use and access configuration options, or otheroptions.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. For example, a user may be identified by way ofbiometrics (e.g., heat signature, voice signature), or a mobile devicethat may be within a predetermined detection region of a media device.After identification is made, the identified user may be logged into themedia device and gain access to the user's personalized guidanceapplication. Such embodiments are discussed further below with regard toFIGS. 5-20.

Customization of the media guidance application, and/or media devicesmay be made in accordance with a user profile and/or user profiles. Thecustomizations may include varying presentation schemes (e.g., colorscheme of displays, font size of text, etc.), aspects of media contentlistings displayed (e.g., only HDTV programming, user-specifiedbroadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering thedisplay of channels, recommended media content, etc.), desired recordingfeatures (e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users,recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, how users may beidentified, what action or actions a media device may perform once auser is detected and/or identified, and other desired customizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the media the useraccesses and/or other interactions the user may have with the guidanceapplication. Additionally, the media guidance application may obtain allor part of other user profiles that are related to a particular user(e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such aswww.tvguide.com, from other media guidance applications the useraccesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from ahandheld device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about theuser from other sources that the media guidance application may access.As a result, a user can be provided with a unified guidance applicationexperience across the user's different devices. This type of userexperience is described in greater detail below in connection with FIG.4. Additional personalized media guidance application features aredescribed in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2005-0251827, published Nov. 10, 2005, Boyer et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2002-0174430, published Nov. 21,2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 formedia content information organized based on media type, genre, and/orother organization criteria. In display 200, television listings option204 is selected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 asbroadcast program listings. Unlike the listings from FIG. 1, thelistings in display 200 are not limited to simple text (e.g., theprogram title) and icons to describe media. Rather, in display 200 thelistings may provide graphical images including cover art, still imagesfrom the media content, video clip previews, live video from the mediacontent, or other types of media that indicate to a user the mediacontent being described by the listing. Each of the graphical listingsmay also be accompanied by text to provide further information about themedia content associated with the listing. For example, listing 208 mayinclude more than one portion, including media portion 214 and textportion 216. Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectableto view video in full-screen or to view program listings related to thevideo displayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for thechannel that the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the media provider or basedon user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating media listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/324,202, filed Dec. 29, 2005, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access media content and the media guidance application (andits display screens described above and below) from one or more of theirmedia devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment of illustrativemedia device 300. More specific implementations of media devices arediscussed below in connection with FIG. 4. Media device 300 may receivemedia content and data via input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 302.I/O path 302 may provide media content (e.g., broadcast programming,on-demand programming, Internet content, and other video or audio) anddata to control circuitry 304, which may include processing circuitry306, detecting circuitry 307, and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 maybe used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry306 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executes instructionsfor a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage 308).In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. Communicationscircuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digitalnetwork (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephonemodem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths (which is described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 4). In addition, communications circuitry mayinclude circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of mediadevices, or communication of media devices in locations remote from eachother (described in more detail below).

In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 may include detectingcircuitry 307 which may be capable of detecting and/or identifying auser or users without requiring the user or users to make anyaffirmative actions by using any suitable biometric recognitiontechnique, such as, facial recognition, heat signature recognition, odorrecognition, scent recognition, body shape recognition, voicerecognition, behavioral recognition, or any other suitable biometricrecognition technique. For example, detecting circuitry 307 may detectand identify users using these techniques while the users are beyond atangible distance to a media device. In some embodiments, users may bedetecting and/or identified using any other suitable biometricrecognition technique that may in some embodiments require the users tobe within a tangible distance to a media device, for example, irisrecognition, retinal recognition, palm recognition, finger printrecognition, or any other suitable technique.

Detecting circuitry 307 may also be capable of detecting and/oridentifying a user or users based on recognition and/or identificationof a media device (e.g., a mobile device, such as an RFID device ormobile phone) that may be associated with the user or users. Detectingcircuitry 307 may recognize and identify such a device using anysuitable means, for example, radio-frequency identification, Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, WiMax, internet protocol, infrared signals, any other suitableIEEE, industrial, or proprietary communication standards, or any othersuitable electronic, optical, or auditory communication means. Forexample, detecting circuitry 307 may determine that a user is within apredetermined detection region of a media device, identify the user, andadd the user to a list of active users at the media device. Thedetection and identification of users as described herein does notrequire any affirmative action on the part of the user beyond, in someembodiments, the configuration of such methods and systems. For example,any detection and identification of users is done automatically by mediadevices.

Detecting circuitry 307 may include any suitable hardware and/orsoftware to perform detection and identification operations. Forexample, detecting circuitry 307 may include infrared, optical, and/orradio-frequency receivers and/or transmitters. Detecting circuitry 307may additionally, or alternatively, include one or more microphoneand/or camera to detect audible and/or visual information, respectively.The microphone may be capable of receiving sounds within the audiblerange and/or outside the audible range. The camera may be capable ofcapturing information within the visual spectrum and/or outside thevisual spectrum. For example, the camera may be able to capture infraredinformation, ultraviolet information, or any other suitable type ofinformation. Detecting circuitry 307 may additionally, or alternatively,include palm, fingerprint, and/or retinal readers for detecting and/oridentifying users. In some embodiments, detecting circuitry maycommunicate to processing circuitry 306 and/or storage 308 variousdetection and/or identification mechanisms indicating whether a user isdetected and/or identified at a particular device.

In some embodiments, detecting circuitry 307 may use any suitable methodto determine the distance, trajectory, and/or location a user is inrelation to a media device. For example, a media device may use receivedsignal strength indication (RSSI) from a user's mobile device todetermine the distance the user is to the media device. For example,RSSI values may be triangulated to determine a user's location. Themedia device may also use, for example, triangulation and/or timedifference of arrival determination of appropriate information todetermine a user's location in relation to a media device. For example,time difference of arrival values of sounds emanating from a user may bedetermined. In some embodiments, any suitable image processing, videoprocessing, and/or computer vision technique may be used to determine auser's distance, trajectory, and/or location in relation to a mediadevice. A user's distance, trajectory, and/or location in relation to amedia device may be determined using any suitable method.

Herein, an identified user may refer to a user who may be recognizedsufficiently by a device to associate the user with a user profile. Insome embodiments, the user may be associated with a group of users, asopposed to, or in addition to being associated with a unique userprofile. For example, the user may be associated with the user's family,friends, age group, sex, and/or any other suitable group. A detecteduser may refer to a user whose presence is detected by a device, but whois not yet identified by the device. Such embodiments are discussed infurther detail with regard to FIGS. 5-20.

Memory (e.g., random-access memory, read-only memory, or any othersuitable memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitablefixed or removable storage devices (e.g., DVD recorder, CD recorder,video cassette recorder, or other suitable recording device) may beprovided as storage 308 that is part of control circuitry 304. Storage308 may include one or more of the above types of storage devices. Forexample, media device 300 may include a hard drive for a DVR (sometimescalled a personal video recorder, or PVR) and a DVD recorder as asecondary storage device. Storage 308 may be used to store various typesof media described herein and guidance application data, includingprogram information, guidance application settings, user preferences orprofile information, a list of active users at a media device, a list ofpast users at a media device, or other data used in operating theguidance application. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., tolaunch a boot-up routine and other instructions).

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting media into the preferred output format of mediadevice 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analog convertercircuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for convertingbetween digital and analog signals. The tuning and encoding circuitrymay be used by the user equipment to receive and to display, to play, orto record media content. The tuning and encoding circuitry may also beused to receive guidance data. The circuitry described herein, includingfor example, the tuning, video generating, encoding, decoding, scaler,and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using software runningon one or more general purpose or specialized processors. Multipletuners may be provided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g.,watch and record functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions,multiple-tuner recording, etc.). If storage 308 is provided as aseparate device from media device 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry(including multiple tuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may control the control circuitry 304 using user input interface310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen,touch pad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or otheruser input interfaces, or combination of user input interfaces. Userinput interface 310 may communicate with one or more media device. Insome embodiments, user input interface 310 may be a remote control withpressure-sensitive buttons. Control circuitry 304 may recognizedifferent amounts of pressure applied to the pressure-sensitive buttonsand adjust navigation through, for example, the guidance application.For example, the amount of pressure applied may adjust the speed ofscrolling through guidance application listings, such that when lesspressure is applied, the listings scroll slower and when more pressureis applied, the listings scroll faster. The pressure-sensitive buttonsmay control any portion of the guidance application or a media device inany suitable manner.

In some embodiments, user input interface 310 may be incorporated into amobile device, such as a mobile phone. In such embodiments, user inputinterface 310 may obtain appropriate commands, information, and/orupdates associated with a user or media device, or any other suitableinformation via the cellular phone network.

In some embodiments, user input interface 310 may communicate with mediadevices using any suitable means, for example, radio-frequencyidentification, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, internet protocol, infraredsignals, any other suitable IEEE, industrial, or proprietarycommunication standards, or any other suitable electronic optical, orauditory communication means. For example, user input interface 310 thatmay be incorporated into a user's mobile phone may communicate withmedia devices using Wi-Fi. In some embodiments, user input interface 310may communicate with an intermediate device that may convert anysuitable communication means to any other suitable communication means.For example, a user may attempt to scroll through a guidance applicationusing the user's mobile phone incorporated with user input interface310. User input interface 310 may output Wi-Fi packets to communicatewith user's scroll instructions. An intermediate device may receive theWi-Fi packets and in turn transmit infrared packets to control circuitry304.

In some embodiments, user input interface 310 may store, transmit,and/or receive information associated with and/or identifying aparticular user or users. This information may be used by detectingcircuitry 307 to detect and/or identify that the user associated withthe information is within a predetermined detection region of a mediadevice. The user may then be added to a list of active users at themedia device and/or logged into the media device. Such embodiments arediscussed in further detail below with regard to FIGS. 5-20.

Display 312 may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated withother elements of media device 300. Display 312 may be one or more of amonitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobiledevice, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images. Insome embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. Speakers 314 may beprovided as integrated with other elements of media device 300 or may bestand-alone units. The audio component of videos and other media contentdisplayed on display 312 may be played through speakers 314. In someembodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown),which processes and outputs the audio via speakers 314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on media device 300. In such an approach, instructions ofthe application are stored locally, and data for use by the applicationis downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from the VBI of a televisionchannel, from an out-of-band feed, or using another suitable approach).In another embodiment, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onmedia device 300 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests to a serverremote to the media device 300. In one example of a client-server basedguidance application, control circuitry 304 runs a web browser thatinterprets web pages provided by a remote server.

In yet other embodiments, the media guidance application is downloadedand interpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine(run by control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidanceapplication may be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF),received by control circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, andinterpreted by a user agent running on control circuitry 304. Forexample, the guidance application may be an EBIF widget. In otherembodiments, the guidance application may be defined by a series ofJAVA-based files that are received and run by a local virtual machine orother suitable middleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some ofsuch embodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

Media device 300 of FIG. 3 may be implemented in system 400 of FIG. 4 asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wirelessuser communications device 406, or any other type of user equipmentsuitable for accessing media, such as a non-portable gaming machine. Forsimplicity, these devices may be referred to herein collectively as userequipment, user equipment devices, or media devices. Media devices, onwhich a media guidance application is implemented, may function as astandalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Variousnetwork configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussedin more detail below.

User television equipment 402 may include a set-top box, an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a televisionset, a digital storage device, a DVD recorder, a video-cassette recorder(VCR), a local media server, or other user television equipment. One ormore of these devices may be integrated to be a single device, ifdesired. User computer equipment 404 may include a PC, a laptop, atablet, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC mediaserver, a PC media center, or other user computer equipment. WEBTV is atrademark owned by Microsoft Corp. Wireless user communications device406 may include PDAs, a mobile telephone, a portable video player, aportable music player, a portable gaming machine, or other wirelessdevices.

It should be noted that with the advent of television tuner cards forPC's, WebTV, and the integration of video into other user equipmentdevices, the lines have become blurred when trying to classify a deviceas one of the above devices. In fact, each of user television equipment402, user computer equipment 404, and wireless user communicationsdevice 406 may utilize at least some of the system features describedabove in connection with FIG. 3 and, as a result, include flexibilitywith respect to the type of media content available on the device. Forexample, user television equipment 402 may be Internet-enabled allowingfor access to Internet content, while user computer equipment 404 mayinclude a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may also have the same layout on the variousdifferent types of user equipment or may be tailored to the displaycapabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computerequipment, the guidance application may be provided as a web siteaccessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance applicationmay be scaled down for wireless user communications devices.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of mediadevice but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicatingthe drawing. In addition, each user may utilize more than one type ofuser equipment device (e.g., a user may have a television set and acomputer) and also more than one of each type of media device (e.g., auser may have a PDA and a mobile telephone and/or multiple televisionsets).

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences,multiple-user use and access configuration options, and other desirableguidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channel as a favoriteon, for example, the web site www.tvguide.com on their personal computerat their office, the same channel would appear as a favorite on theuser's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipment and usercomputer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, if desired.Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device may change theguidance experience on another media device, regardless of whether theyare the same or a different type of media device. In addition, thechanges made may be based on settings input by a user or systemoperator, as well as user activity monitored by the guidanceapplication.

The media devices may be coupled to communications network 414. Namely,user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406 are coupled to communications network 414via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively. Communicationsnetwork 414 may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobilephone network, mobile device (e.g., Blackberry) network, cable network,public switched telephone network, or other types of suitablecommunications networks or suitable combinations of communicationsnetworks. BLACKBERRY is a service mark owned by Research In MotionLimited Corp. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together includeone or more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, afiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internetcommunications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcastor other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wirelesscommunications path or combination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn withdotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG.4 it is a wireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid linesto indicate they are wired paths (although these paths may be wiredand/or wireless paths, if desired). Communications with the userequipment devices may be provided by one or more of these communicationspaths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between media devices, thesedevices may communicate directly with each other via communicationpaths, such as those described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412, as well other short-range point-to-point communication paths,such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth,infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or other short-range communication viawired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is a certification mark owned byBluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipment devices may also communicate witheach other directly through an indirect path via communications network414.

System 400 includes media content source 416 and media guidance datasource 418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths420 and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the media content source 416 and mediaguidance data source 418 may be exchanged over one or morecommunications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one ofeach of media content source 416 and media guidance data source 418, butonly one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussedbelow.) If desired, media content source 416 and media guidance datasource 418 may be integrated as one source device. Althoughcommunications between sources 416 and 418 with media devices 402, 404,and 406 are shown as through communications network 414, in someembodiments, sources 416 and 418 may communicate directly with mediadevices 402, 404, and 406 via communication paths (not shown) such asthose described above in connection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Media content source 416 may include one or more types of mediadistribution equipment including a television distribution facility,cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programmingsources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.),intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers,on-demand media servers, and other media content providers. NBC is atrademark owned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is atrademark owned by the ABC, INC., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Media content source 416 may be the originator ofmedia content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.)or may not be the originator of media content (e.g., an on-demand mediacontent provider, an Internet provider of video content of broadcastprograms for downloading, etc.). Media content source 416 may includecable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internetproviders, or other providers of media content. Media content source 416may also include a remote media server used to store different types ofmedia content (including video content selected by a user), in alocation remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of media content, and providing remotelystored media content to user equipment are discussed in greater detailin connection with Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asmedia listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times,broadcast channels, media titles, media descriptions, ratingsinformation (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.),genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, and any othertype of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among andlocate desired media selections.

Media guidance application data may be provided to the media devicesusing any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidanceapplication may be a stand-alone interactive television program guidethat receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuousfeed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of achannel).

Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to mediadevices on a television channel sideband, in the vertical blankinginterval of a television channel, using an in-band digital signal, usingan out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable datatransmission technique. Program schedule data and other guidance datamay be provided to media devices on multiple analog or digitaltelevision channels. Program schedule data and other guidance data maybe provided to the media devices with any suitable frequency (e.g.,continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specifiedperiod of time, in response to a request from media devices, etc.). Insome approaches, guidance data from media guidance data source 418 maybe provided to users' media devices using a client-server approach. Forexample, a guidance application client residing on the user's mediadevice may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtain guidance datawhen needed. Media guidance data source 418 may provide media devices402, 404, and 406 the media guidance application itself or softwareupdates for the media guidance application.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on media devices. In other embodiments, mediaguidance applications may be client-server applications where only theclient resides on the media device. For example, media guidanceapplications may be implemented partially as a client application oncontrol circuitry 304 of media device 300 and partially on a remoteserver as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source 418).The guidance application displays may be generated by the media guidancedata source 418 and transmitted to the media devices. The media guidancedata source 418 may also transmit data for storage on the media device,which then generates the guidance application displays based oninstructions processed by control circuitry.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which media devices andsources of media content and guidance data may communicate with eachother for the purpose of accessing media and providing media guidance.The present invention may be applied in any one or a subset of theseapproaches, or in a system employing other approaches for deliveringmedia and providing media guidance. The following three approachesprovide specific illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 4.

In one approach, media devices may communicate with each other within ahome network. Media devices can communicate with each other directly viashort-range point-to-point communication schemes describe above, viaindirect paths through a hub or other similar device provided on a homenetwork, or via communications network 414. Each of the multipleindividuals in a single home may operate different media devices on thehome network. As a result, it may be desirable for various mediaguidance information or settings to be communicated between thedifferent media devices. For example, it may be desirable for users tomaintain consistent media guidance application settings on differentmedia devices within a home network, as described in greater detail inEllis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005-0251827,published Nov. 10, 2005. Different types of media devices in a homenetwork may also communicate with each other to transmit media content.For example, a user may transmit media content from user computerequipment to a portable video player or portable music player.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of media devices bywhich they access media content and obtain media guidance. For example,some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home andmobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's media devices directly, or by communicating witha media guidance application on the user's in-home media devices.Various systems and methods for media devices communicating, where themedia devices are in locations remote from each other, is discussed in,for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005-0028208, published Feb. 3, 2005, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

In a third approach, users of media devices inside and outside a homecan use their media guidance application to communicate directly withmedia content source 416 to access media content. Specifically, within ahome, users of user television equipment 404 and wireless usercommunications device 406 may access the media guidance application tonavigate among and locate desirable media content. Users may also accessthe media guidance application outside of the home using wireless usercommunications devices 406 to navigate among and locate desirable mediacontent.

It will be appreciated that while the discussion of media content hasfocused on video content, the principles of media guidance can beapplied to other types of media content, such as music, images, etc.

In some embodiments a media device may be capable of detecting andidentifying users automatically. The device may log a detected and/oridentified user into the device and utilize profiles and/or informationassociated with the user to, for example, tailor media content for thelogged in user. In some embodiments, the device may be able to detect,identify, and login more than one user automatically. This may allow thedevice to, for example, tailor media content to the combination of thelogged in users without requiring manual input from the multiple users.The actions a device may make before, during, and after detection of oneor more user may be configured through, for example, the configurationmenu screens described below.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative display of a multiple-user use and accessconfiguration menu screen 500 in accordance with some embodiments of thesystems and methods described herein. Screen 500 may include options fordetection configuration 510, user authorization/restrictionconfiguration 520, active multiple-user policy configuration 530, andmultiple-user reminder options 540. In some embodiments, screen 500 mayaccessed through options region 126 of FIG. 1 or by any suitable method.In some embodiments, configuration options may be configured for theuser performing the configuration, any other suitable user, a localdevice, or any other suitable device. The configuration optionselections may be stored in any suitable location, for example, storage308 of FIG. 3 and/or at any other suitable device and/or server. In someembodiments, the option selections may be associated with and/or applyto any suitable user, for example, by associating the selections with arespective user profile.

Screen 500 may include advertisement 550 which may have the same orsimilar functionality as advertisement 124 of FIG. 1. Advertisement 550may be placed in any suitable location within screen 500. Additionally,or alternatively, logo 560 may be displayed identifying the sponsor ofthe software application that provides the media multiple-user use andaccess functionality. Video window 570 may also be displayed with mayhave similar functionality as video region 122 and may be placed in anysuitable location within screen 500.

A user may access multiple-user use and access configuration menu screen500 to set up user equipment device functionality and personal userpreferences related to automatic multiple user detection and use. A usermay access screen 500 from any local or remote device. For example, auser may access screen 500 from a remote website using a PDA or anyother suitable mobile device. In some embodiments, the user mayconfigure the multiple-user use and access functionality (discussed indetail below) by accessing a vendor's website (e.g., TVGuide.com). Theconfiguration may be downloaded automatically and/or manually from thewebsite to the user's home equipment when necessary. The user may alsoaccess screen 500 locally using the user television equipment 402 ofFIG. 4 to configure the multiple-user use and access functionality.

In some embodiments, a user may at least partially configure themultiple-user use and access functionality of a device or devicesthrough detection configuration 510 (e.g., configuring how users areautomatically detected). For example, a user may be automaticallyidentified by a user equipment device using, for example, detectingcircuitry 307. Subsequently, the user may be regarded as an active userof the user equipment device or another user equipment device. There aremany methods in which a device may identify a user including, but notlimited to, biometric recognition and recognition of a device associatedwith a user. Further, there are many courses of action that a userequipment device may take once a user is identified and regarded as anactive user of the device. A user may configure these methods andoptions through, for example, detection configuration screen 600 of FIG.6. Detection configuration screen 600 may be accessed by a user byselection of detection configuration option 510 in screen 500 of FIG. 5.

Detection configuration screen 600 may include detection regionconfiguration options 610, recognition configuration options 620, andafter user detected configuration options 630.

Detection region configuration options 610 may allow a user to define aproximity and/or region near a media device such that when a user iswithin the proximity and/or region, the user will be considered anactive user of the media device. For example, a user may define theboundaries of the detection region, for example, within the definedboundaries a user may be considered an active user at the associateddevice, otherwise the user will not be considered an active user at theassociated device. For example, if a user sits down in front of a firstdevice and is detected within the configured region, the user may beautomatically logged into the device so that, for example, the user'spersonal settings are available to the user.

In some embodiments, detecting circuitry 307 may be capable and/orconfigured to tracking the movement of users using, for example,detection configuration screen 600. For example, detecting circuitry 307may be capable of determining the trajectory of a user. As discussedabove, detecting circuitry 307 may track the movement of users using anysuitable method. The detecting media device may communicate thetrajectory information to another suitable media device. For example,the other media device may be in the path of the user's movement. Withthe information that the tracked user may be heading toward the othermedia device, the other media device may preemptively turn on the othermedia device and/or preload the tracked user's profile in anticipationof the user's arrival. This may minimize, for example, startup, load,and/or login times that the user may experience upon entering the othermedia device's detection region.

In some embodiments, media devices may associate movement patterns ofusers with particular actions. For example, a media device may detectthat a particular user often leaves the device's detection region atroughly a 45 degree angle in relation to the device before entering thedetection region of another media device in a separate room. As such,when the user is detected to leave the device's detection region atroughly a 45 degree angle, the device may provide information to theother media device that the user may arrive within the other mediadevice's detection region within a short time.

As another example, a media device may detect that a particular useroften temporarily leaves the device's detection region for thirtyminutes or less when the user leaves the detection region by goingaround a living room couch. As such, when the user is detected to leavethe device's detection region after going around the living room couch,the device may temporarily go into a sleep mode, as opposed to shutdown, if there are no other active users at the device in anticipationthat the user will most likely return within thirty minutes.Additionally, or alternatively, if there are other active users at themedia device, the device may adjust targeted media content and/orsuggested media content accordingly for the remaining users. Forexample, the device may recommend a short film that is less than thirtyminutes long which the remaining users would likely enjoy, but the userwho left (and will likely return within thirty minutes) would likely notenjoy. Determining whether a user would likely enjoy or not enjoy mediacontent is discussed further below.

In some embodiments, the media device may store detected users'movements in any suitable location, for example, locally or remotely. Insome embodiments, the stored user movements may be correlated in anysuitable manner with a respective user's actions subsequent to thestored movements. The correlated data may be used to defineprobabilities to future movements of the particular user. For example,any suitable pattern recognition technique may be utilized to determinewhether a user or users has exhibited a particular movement pattern inthe past. Additionally, any suitable pattern recognition may also beutilized to determine whether a user or users are likely exhibiting atleast one of the determined past movement patterns in real-time (e.g.,as a user is in the process of moving). There is likely to be slightvariations in a movement pattern from one movement to another, however,a robust pattern recognition technique should be able to account forthese variations and correctly determine the corresponding movementpattern.

In some embodiments, the correlated data regarding the movements of oneuser may be extrapolated to other users of the media device. Forexample, multiple users may be detected within the detection region of aparticular device. Of the multiple users, only one regularly utilizesthe particular device. Therefore, the particular device may haveidentified many movement patterns associated with the regular user atthe particular device. Conversely, the particular device may haveidentified minimal, if any, movement patterns associated with otherusers at the particular device. If the user who uses the particulardevice regularly usually exhibits a particular movement pattern beforemoving to a second media device, then the particular device may assumethat other users for which the device has little movement informationmay exhibit the same movement behavior and subsequent actions. As such,if the other users exhibit a same movement pattern as the regular user,the media device may determine that the other users would likely performthe same actions as the regular user when the regular user exhibits thereferences movement pattern.

In some embodiments, a media device or media devices may determine thata user is relatively active or relatively static. For example, the mediadevices may determine that a user is moving between multiple mediadevices within relatively short time intervals. This may happen when auser is in the process of cleaning their home and the user must traverseseveral rooms continuous over a short time period (e.g., the user stayswithin the detection region of a media device for ten minutes or less).This is in contrast to maintaining a relatively stationary position on acouch in a living room for a relatively prolonged period (e.g., the userstays within the detection region of a media device for thirty minutesor more). When a user is determined to be relatively active by one ormore media device, the media devices may synchronize, for example, mediacontent and/or user profiles across the multiple media devices so thatthe user may maintain relatively uninterrupted access to content as theuser moves between devices.

In some embodiments, configuration of the detection region usingdetection configuration screen 600 may avoid a situation where a user isdetected at a media device, but actually does not intend to use thedevice. For example, a user may be cooking in a kitchen far from thedevice, however, the device is still capable of detecting andidentifying the user despite the fact that a user probably does not wishto utilize the device if the user is far from the device. In someembodiments, the configuration of the detection region may be based onviewing angles of, for example, display 312. For example, a detectionregion's border may be limited so that it is within a reasonable viewingangle of the respective media device's display. In some embodiments, thereasonable viewing angle may be manually configured by a user and/orsystem operator. In some embodiments, the reasonable viewing angle maybe intrinsic to the display.

In some embodiments, detecting circuitry 307 may recognize objectswithin the display's viewable range and adjust the detection region suchthat when a user is behind the object, the user would not be consideredan active user at the respective media device. For example, detectingcircuitry 307 may recognize a wall that is within the display's viewablerange. As such, the media device may set the detection region such thatthe wall is outside the detection region or is part of a border of thedetection region. In such an embodiment, any user behind the wall wouldnot be considered an active user at the device. Configuration of thedetection region may also include configuring a length of time a usermay be within the detection region to be considered an active user atthe associated device. For example, a user who is simply walking througha detection region may not have any intention to begin utilizing adevice. In such situation, it may not be desirable to consider this useran active user.

Additionally, or alternatively, detection region configuration may avoiddevice use conflicts. For example, two devices may be within relativelyclose proximity to each other. Without defined detection regions, a usermay mistakenly be determined to be active at both devices, if thedevices' respective detection regions overlap. In some embodiments, itmay be desirable for the detection regions to overlap.

In some embodiments, a user may manually configure the detection regionsof a media device by, for example, selecting button 612 or alternativelyallow a device or devices to automatically configure the regions by, forexample, selecting button 614. If button 612 is selected, a user maymanually configure the detection regions by, for example, walking in theareas the user would like to be considered active by the device whendetected within those areas. Upon selection of button 612, the devicemay go into, for example, a manual configuration mode. While in themanual configuration mode, the user may, for example, move through areasthe user would like to set as a detection region, and the user mayaffirm verbally and/or electronically that the current position of theuser is to be part of the respective device's detection region. Whenoutside of the desired detection region, the user may verbally and/orelectronically affirm that the current location of the user is not to bepart of the detection region. The manual configuration may be done usingany suitable means.

If button 614 is selected, devices may automatically configure thedetection regions using any suitable technique, for example, using anysuitable spatial recognition technique. For example, a device mayrecognize that a couch is positioned to face the device. In such a case,the device may add the couch to the device's detection region. If thecouch is positioned to face away from the device, the couch may not beadded to the device's detection region. In some embodiments, devices maycommunicate information regarding their own detection regions or otherdevice's detection regions to other devices. This may assist with theconfiguration of the detection regions, for example, it may allow deviceto resolve detection region conflicts (e.g., when more one device wouldregister a user as active at the device when the user is within aparticular area).

In some embodiments, the detection regions may adapt in real-time. Forexample, mobile devices may be associated a particular detection regionwhen no other media device is within a detectable range to the mobiledevice. When the mobile device comes within a detectable range of, forexample a television, the mobile device and television may reconcileeach the respective detection regions. For example, it may be desirableto provide media content primarily on the television whenever the mobiledevice is within a detectable range of the television. In such anembodiment, the mobile device's detection region may be nullified when,for example, the respective device's detection regions overlap so thatany user within the overlapping detection regions would be consideredactive at the television and not the mobile device.

In some embodiments, overlapping detection regions may be given apriority, so that, for example, particular actions and/or content may beprovided on one overlapping device over the another overlapping device.For example, a user may be within the detection regions of both a mobiledevice and a television and it may be desirable that text-messages beprovided on a user's mobile device while the user is accessing mediacontent on a television. As such, the mobile device may be given ahigher priority for text-messages when compared to the television in anoverlapping detection region situation. In some embodiments, thepriority levels may be configured in for example, detectionconfiguration screen 600 for any suitable action and/or content.

Once detection regions are configured, a user may test the detectionregion configuration by selecting button 616. A user, device, and/ordevices may test the detection region configuration using any suitabletechnique. For example, a user may position themselves within theconfigured detection regions and/or outside the configured detectionregion for any suitable amount and time and determine whether respectivedevices' detection and/or identification of the user is satisfactory.

In some embodiments, a user may configure what techniques a media deviceor media devices may use to detect, track movement of, and/or identifyusers within the device's detection region using, for example, detectingcircuitry 307, as illustrated by recognition configuration options 620.For example, a user may configure a device or devices to detect, trackmovement of, and/or identify a user using any suitable biometricrecognition technique, any suitable device recognition technique, anysuitable radar and/or sonar recognition technique, and/or any othersuitable recognition technique. In some embodiments, detecting circuitry307 may utilize any suitable image processing, video processing, and/orcomputer vision technique and/or any other suitable technique to detect,track movement of, locate and/or identify users, and/or determine anyother suitable information regarding a user within the device'sdetectable range. For example, a user may enable biometric recognitioncapabilities by selecting option 622 or, alternatively, disablebiometric recognition capabilities by selecting option 624, wherein thebiometric techniques may include any of the techniques described abovein connection with FIG. 3 or any other suitable technique. In someembodiments, a user may be detected, tracked, and/or identified by wayof device recognition. For example, a mobile device (e.g., a mobilephone or an RFID tag) may be associated with a particular user or users.

In some embodiments, when the mobile device is within a detectable rangeof a media device and/or within the detection region of a media device,the media device may be capable of identifying the mobile device throughany suitable identification method (e.g., RFID, detection of the mobiledevice's media control access address, and/or any other suitableidentification method). After the media device identifies the mobiledevice, the media device may then identify the user associated with themobile device by, for example, looking up information associated withthe mobile device from a server and/or local storage. In someembodiments, the mobile device may transfer information about theassociated user or users to the media device. The information about theassociated user or users may be stored in the mobile device and/or at aremote server.

In some embodiments, a user and/or mobile device may only be detected(e.g., not identified). For example, a mobile device may initiateBluetooth communications with a media device when nearby the mediadevice. In response to detecting the Bluetooth communications, the mediadevice may ascertain that a user is within a detectable distance to themedia device and/or that a user is within the media device's detectionregion. In some embodiments, a user may test their configurations byselecting button 626. If a user requires more information about any ofthe recognition options, the user may select button 628 to request moreinformation.

In some embodiments, a user may configure options associated with whatactions a device performs after a user is detected, as illustrated byuser detection configuration options 630. For example, a device mayautomatically turn ON or activate a display in response to detectingand/or identifying a user within the detection region of the device. Insome embodiments, turning ON or activating may refer to a device thatcomes out of a “sleep” mode which, for example, may be used to savepower, but does not require a full start upon coming out of the sleepmode. Alternatively, a device may provide an option to turn ON a displayin response to detection and/or identification of a user within thedetection region of the device. It should be noted that the option doesnot necessarily need to be displayed on the device that detected theuser or the device that may be turned on. For example, either a livingroom television or a mobile device on the user's person may detect thatthe user entered the detection region for their living room television.In response to this detection, the living room television mayautomatically turn ON, or alternatively provide an option to turn ON thetelevision, wherein the option is provided on the user's mobile deviceor on the television itself.

In some embodiments, if a device is on and no active user is detected,the device may deactivated (e.g., turned OFF or put into a “sleep” mode)to, for example, conserve energy. In some embodiments, deactivating mayrefer to a device that goes into a “sleep” mode which, for example, maybe used to save power and does not require a full start upon coming outof the sleep mode. While in sleep mode, the device may have somecomponents that remain active or partially active. For example,processing circuitry 306 and detecting circuitry 307 may remainsubstantially and/or partially active while the device is in sleep modeso that the device may retain the capability to detect users within thedevice's detectable range. Other components may be substantiallyinactive while the device is in sleep mode. For example, display 312 andspeakers 314 may be substantially inactive while the device is in sleepmode. Display 312 and speakers 314 may be reactivated when the devicecomes out of sleep mode so that the device is fully active.

The device may also be configured to turn OFF after a predeterminedperiod of time wherein no user is detected. For example, a device mayturn OFF if the device does not detect a user for five minutes. Theactions performed by a device in response to detecting and/oridentifying a user and/or determining that a user is active or inactivemay depend on the configuration of options 630. In some embodiments, adevice may only perform the options configured in options 630 for userswho are authorized to utilize the device. User authorization and accessis discussed in greater detail below.

In some embodiments, screen 600 may include option 652 to allow a userto enable all available options related to the detection configuration.Screen 600 may also include option 654 to disable all available optionsrelated to the detection configuration. Option 656 allows a user toeasily select default detection configuration options. Option 658 allowsa user to save their configuration options. Option 660 allows a user tocancel any changes they made to their configuration options. When a useris done making configuration changes, a user may select option 662 tocomplete and save the configuration changes. If a user needs additionalinformation regarding any of the options, the user may select option 664to request additional information regarding the configuration options.

In some embodiments, screen 600 may include video window 670, logo 680,and advertisement 690, which may be substantially similar to videowindow 570, logo 560, and advertisement 550 of FIG. 5, respectively.Video window 670, logo 680, and advertisement 690 may be placed in anysuitable location and in any suitable configuration within screen 600.

In some embodiments, a user may at least partially configure who isauthorized and/or restricted from a particular device or devices throughuser authorization/restriction configuration 520 of FIG. 5. For example,many users may be detected by a device, however, the owner of the devicemay not want every detected user to have access to the device, or maywant to restrict actions other users may perform once they have gainedaccess to the device. Once a user selects user authorization/restrictionconfiguration 520, user authorization/restriction configuration screen700 may be displayed to allow the user to configure user authorizationand restriction options. User authorization/restriction configurationscreen 700 may include known user access configuration section 710,general authorization options 720, and login options 730.

Known user access configuration section 710 may allow a user to reviewwhich users are known to a particular or multiple devices and review theusers associated access rights. For example, user George may be known todevice A as illustrated by FIG. 7. Here, George's access level is set to“minimal.” This setting may restrict particular actions George mayperform on device A. For example, George may not be able to adjustvarious configuration options related to device A, view or change localdata. In some embodiments, a user may want to completely block a knownuser from any access to a device. For example, user Newman is known todevice A as illustrated by FIG. 7 and has an access setting associatedwith him set to “block.” A blocked setting may prevent user Newman fromaccessing and/or modifying any portion of device A.

In some embodiments, a blocked setting may prevent device detectionand/or identification between Newman's devices and the device from whichhe is blocked. In some embodiments, a blocked user may not log into theassociated device. Additional access level setting illustrated in screen700 are “moderate” and “full” access. A user may change the access levelassociated with a particular user by selecting a different availableoption. For example, George's access level may be changed by a user witha sufficient access level by selecting moderate option 714 instead ofthe currently selected minimal option 712. It should be noted that whileonly four different levels of access are illustrated, any suitablenumber of levels or other method for providing or restricting a user'saccess to a device may be used and configured in any suitable manner. Insome embodiments, access rights displayed may or may not be related todevices the user owns.

In some embodiments, general authorization options 720 may be provided.Here, a user may provide general access levels, for example, for allknown users and all unknown users. As illustrated by FIG. 7, the currentsettings for device A provide that all unknown users are set to anaccess level of “block.” This may mean that, for example, all unknownusers may be denied access to device A. For example, a user who hasnever used device A may automatically be denied access to device A evenif they move into device A's detection region. In some embodiments, theoptions selected may apply to any suitable user, for example, a detecteduser, identified user, and/or a user with any suitable access level, orany other suitable user.

In some embodiments, login options 730 may be provided. Here, a user mayconfigure what login and authentication procedures a device may performin response to particular events. For example, if a known user isdetected by device A, or is within device A's detection region, the usermay be automatically logged into device A, thus providing access to theuser for device A, as well as personalized setting for the user.Alternatively, a dialogue box may be provided to provide users with anoption to authenticate the detected user and/or give the user access(temporary or any other suitable type of access) to the device. In someembodiments, a similar dialogue box may be provided if the user isunknown to the device. Authentication of a user, known or unknown, maybe provided by another user with sufficient access rights and/or theuser themselves. In some embodiments, a user may add additional users tothe known users list on a device by selecting the add known users option732. For example, this may allow one user to preemptively authenticateon a device another user before the other user is ever detected by thedevice. In some embodiments, user access lists may be imported from onedevice to another.

In some embodiments, screen 700 may include default option 756, saveoption 758, cancel option 760, done option 762, info option 764, videowindow 770, logo 780, and advertisement 790, which may be substantiallysimilar to default option 656, save option 658, cancel option 660, doneoption 662, info option 664, video window 670, logo 680, andadvertisement 690 of FIG. 6, respectively, each of which may be placedin any suitable location and in any suitable configuration within screen700.

In some embodiments, multiple users may be detected and/or identified bya device and/or devices, and thus, multiple users may be consideredactive users of the same device. The multiple users may be detected, forexample, at the same time, or, for example, a second user may bedetected at some time after a first user begins to navigate the deviceand/or after the first user begins to access media content. Here, anactive user may refer to a user who is within a device's detectionregion, detected to be within the detection region by the device and/orany other suitable device, identified by the device and/or any othersuitable device. In some embodiments, after a user is detected and/oridentified, the user may be added to a list of active users at thedevice. The list may be stored at the device and/or at any othersuitable user and/or system device. For example, active user lists maybe maintained at a local device and/or a centralized server. In additionto, or alternatively, a detected and/or identified user may be loggedinto the device.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to handle multiple usersituations to, for example, tailor content to all active users of adevice or devices as opposed to a single user. For example, there may bemultiple users accessing content at a single device and/or multipleusers accessing the same content concurrently at different devices.Additionally, it may be desirable to handle situations wherein, forexample, one active user becomes temporarily or permanently inactive,while a different user remains active at the device. In someembodiments, a user may at least partially configure these and otherpolicies and actions a device or devices may take when multiple usersare active at the respective device or devices using activemultiple-user policy configuration screen 800 of FIG. 8. Screen 800 maybe accessed by user selection of active multiple-user policyconfiguration option 530 of FIG. 5. Screen 800 may include mergedprofile options 810, content tailoring options 820, when user detectedoptions 830, leaving user options 840, and returning user options 850.

Merged profile options 810 may allow a user to define how profilesassociated with each active user at a device are utilized by the device.For example, the device may create a temporary or permanent mergedprofile that combines information relating to each user into a singleprofile. The information relating to each user may include, but is notlimited to, demographic information (e.g., income level, work location,home location, marital status, race, sex, age, religion, disabilities,mobility, number of vehicles, average travel time, educationalattainment, home ownership, employment status, etc.), media content usetrends, viewing and/or listening habits, buying habits, advertisementviewing and/or selection habits, electronic programming guide habits, orany other suitable information pertaining to a user or users. Profilesmay be merged in any suitable manner. For example, profile conflictsbetween user profiles may be resolved by averaging values associatedwith each user's profile entries.

In some embodiments, values in one or more user profiles may be weightedin a manner that would give some values in some users' profiles moreinfluence in the merged profile over other users' profiles. For example,the preferences of an active user who owns the respective media devicemay be given a greater weight when determining the merged profile incontrast to users who do not own the device. In some embodiments, userswho utilize the respective media device more often or less often thanother active users at the device may be given a greater or less weightwhen determining the merged profile. In some embodiments, the weighingof a user's preferences when determining the merged profile may berelated to the user's proximity to the device. For example, if a firstuser is further away from a media device than a second user, thepreferences of the second user may be given more weight when determiningthe merged profile.

In some embodiments, profile differences may be resolved using a votingmechanism. For example, if two active users prefer chocolate, while theother active user does not, the merged profile would reflect the groupof active users overall preference for chocolate. For example,advertisements may be targeted on the basis that the group of activeusers has a preference for chocolate. In some embodiments, preferencesthat are in the minority when compared to the group of active users at adevice would have little to no effect on the merged profile.Additionally, or alternatively, if there is a tie between active users'preferences (e.g., two users prefer chocolate, two do not), therespective merged profile preference may be decided on the basis of theuser who owns the device. For example, the merged profile preference maybe equated to the owner's default preferences.

In some embodiments, the merged profiles may be used to target and/orrecommend advertisements, media content, or actions related to mediacontent (e.g., recommend accessing, recording, purchasing, or settingreminders related to media content) or any other suitable action. Themerged profiles may help to better target advertisement and/or provideservices to all active users watching as opposed to targeting actionsfor just one logged in user even if multiple users are active. In someembodiments, the merged profile creation may be automatic or,alternatively, a device, for example, device 300, may request permissionto proceed with performing merged profile creation operations. Forexample, a user may object to the creation of a merged profile forprivacy concerns.

In some embodiments, a merged profile might not be separately created,but instead, or additionally, selected portions of the active user'sprofiles may be resolved, for example, in real-time, in order to targetand/or provide advertisements and/or services. Information relating toany suitable actions of the multiple active users at a device may beused to dynamically update the merged profile. For example, a first anda second user may perform a particular set of actions more often than ifeither user utilizes a device separately from each other. For example, ahusband may view action movies while alone or with friends, but thehusband may view sitcoms when using a device with his wife. Mergedprofiles may be modified to incorporate such information, and thusbetter tailor content to a particular set of multiple active users.Alternatively, or additionally, such information may be utilized toupdate the user's respective profiles. The action used to updateprofiles may be any suitable action that may be performed on a device.Data relating to merged profiles may be stored in any suitable locationfor any suitable length of time. This may allow a device to refer to apast merged profile when a particular set of multiple users becomeactive together again.

Content tailoring options 820 may allow a user to configure to whomcontent may be tailored, wherein tailored content may refer targetingand/or recommending advertisements, media content, or actions related tomedia content, or any other suitable action as described above. Forexample, a user may choose that content may only be tailored towardusers with a particular device access level, for example, full access.Alternatively, or additionally, a user may choose that content betailored toward all users, users with minimal, and/or moderate accesslevels, or any other suitable combination of access levels, or any othersuitable user (e.g., regardless of access level). In some embodiments, auser may select what type of content may be tailored (not shown in FIG.8). For example, a user may choose that to have only advertisementstailored to all active users, while media content recommendations mayonly be targeted toward users with full access to the device.

In some embodiments, tailoring the content may include providingreminders for content associated with all or selected users. Selectedusers may include users of a within selected groups, for example, userswithin selected age groups and/or user access level groups. For example,if multiple users are active at a device and a reminder associated withone of the users is scheduled to be displayed, the reminder associatedwith the user may be displayed. In some embodiments, the reminder mayinclude options to provide the content associated with the reminder onthe current device, a device associated with the user for whom thereminder was associated (e.g., the user's mobile device), and/or anyother suitable device. In some embodiments, the reminder may only appearif the associated content does not conflict with other active users'preferences. Alternatively, or additionally, the reminder may include awarning that one or more of the active users may not enjoy the remindedcontent and/or one or more of the active users' profiles conflicts withthe reminded content. For example, the reminded content may conflictwith parental control settings and/or other profile preference settingsof an active user. In some embodiments, the reminder may include amessage recommending the content to the other active users if theirprofiles agree with the reminded content. For example, the remindedcontent may be an action movie and all the active users' profiles mayindicate that they enjoy action movies. As such, an indication may beincluded in the reminder that states, for example, “Reminder set foraction moviel by user1. user2 has a 76% chance of enjoying this movie.”In some embodiments, the probability value may be converted into anysuitable numerical or graphical representation. For example, the 76% maybe represented in the reminder by 3 out of 4 stars.

To determine whether an active user would probably like or dislikereminded content, probability values may be determined. For example, theprobability values may be determined based on values within therespective user's profiles that indicate how much the users like ordislike a particular genre of entertainment as well as based on thecharacteristics of the reminded content. For example, if a user'sprofile indicates that the user generally enjoys action movies andgenerally dislikes comedies, a probability value regarding a new actionmovie may indicate that the user would probably enjoy the new actionmovie. Conversely, a probability value regarding a new comedy mayindicate that the user would probably not enjoy the new comedy. Theprobability values may be computed in any suitable manner, for example,the values may be based on any suitable parameter within the respectiveuser's profile, the user's content access history, profiles or historiesof the user's friends or family, demographic categories, user's withsimilar profiles or histories, or any other suitable parameter. In someembodiments, users may set manually or media devices may determineautomatically preferences associated with particular actors and/oractresses, genres, program types, and the current mood of the user orusers, or any other suitable preference and/or aspect of the users'profiles. Various systems and methods for determining users' preferencesfor media content are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/324,202, filed Dec. 29, 2005, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In some embodiments, user preferences may vary between different mediadevices. For example, a user may not want details of the user's profilefrom one media device to impact media availability when moving toanother media device. For example, user's content access history and/orany other suitable preference indicator may be excluded, included,and/or modified when targeting content and/or determining probabilitiesfor enjoyment at multiple media devices. For example, a user may be moreinclined to watch ‘R’-rated movies while in the user's bedroom and homeoffice, but only watch ‘PG’-rated movies while in the user's livingroom. As such, this aspect of the user's content access history may beutilized when determining probabilities for enjoyment differently atdifferent media devices. For example, ‘PG’-rated movies that the useraccessed in the user's living room may not influence targeted mediacontent and/or media content recommendations while the user is utilizingthe media devices in the user's bedroom and/or home office. The reversemay also be true. For example, ‘R’-rated movies that the user accessedin the user's bedroom and/or home office may not influence targetedmedia content and/or media content recommendations while the user isutilizing the media device in the user's living room.

In some embodiments, users' preferences may be modified and/or updateddifferently depending on what device the user accesses in addition to,or alternatively from, content access history at different devices, asdescribed above. For example, if the user accesses content at a devicethe user rarely uses, the properties of the accessed content may notinfluence changes in the user's preference profile as much as if, forexample, the user accessed the same content from a device the userutilizes often. Additionally, or alternatively, a user's preferences maybe modified and/or updated differently depending on with whom the useraccesses content. For example, if a first user accesses content with asecond user that the first user rarely accesses content with, theproperties of the accessed content may not influence changes in theuser's preference profile as much as if, for example, the user accessedthe same content with another user that the first user access contentwith often.

In some embodiments, reminders may be set automatically and anyassociated actions may be performed automatically. In some embodiments,the reminders, associated actions, and associated options may beconfigured with content tailoring options 820. In some embodiments, thereminder or reminders may be have set previously by the associated user.Additionally, or alternatively, the reminders may be automaticallygenerated by a service provider to recommend content users at a mediadevice may enjoy. In some embodiments, the recommended content may bedirected to a subset of active users at a device or all the users at thedevice. In some embodiments, the recommended content may also bedetermined by utilizing the probability values described above.Reminders that are automatically generated may include informationregarding why the particular reminder was generated. For example, thereminder may state, “Automatically generated reminder for VOD program1.Generated for active user1 and user2 because they previously indicatedthey enjoyed broadcast program1.”

In some embodiments, a user's device, for example device 300, mayperform a parental control check when a new active user is detectedand/or identified. For example, a mother and father may be enjoying amovie with adult content when their young child walks, unbeknownst tothe child's parents, within viewing distance of the device displayingadult content. In such a situation, device 300 may register the youngchild as an active user of device 300, compare the child's parentalcontrol settings to the displayed movie, and immediately prevent thechild from viewing the adult content if a parental control conflict isdetected. A parental control conflict may be any discrepancy betweencharacteristics of content and parental control settings associated witha user. For example, parental control settings associated with a usermay stipulate that the user may not watch any movie that has a ratinghigher than “PG”. In such a situation, the user may create a parentalcontrol conflict if, for example, the user becomes active at a devicewhile rated “PG-13” content is being displayed. In some embodiments, aconflicted user may be prevented from viewing the content by, forexample, shutting down the device, changing the displayed movie,automatically presenting an edited version of the movie, and/orproviding a window that substantially obscures the movie when the useris detected by the device.

In some embodiments, a user may configure device parental controlconflict response actions with parental control options 832, within theupon detection options menu 830. Using options 832, a user may selectwhether parental controls of users (e.g., all users, selected users,etc.) are compared to provided content for conflicts when the users aredetected and/or identified near the device providing the content. Insome embodiments, users may select what actions a device may take if aconflict is detected. For example, a user may configure a device to shutdown, change provided content, and/or provide an option to shut downand/or change the provided content. In some embodiments, the option toshut down and/or change the provided content may be displayed in amanner that would substantially cover any displayed content so that theuser who conflicts with the content would not be able to view thecontent. Additionally, or alternatively, any sounds associated with thecontent may automatically be muted upon conflict detection to preventthe conflicted user from hearing any content that conflicts with theirparental control settings.

In some embodiments, the volume may substantially decrease upon conflictdetection. The amount of volume decrease may be associated with how farthe conflicted user is from the device providing the content. Forexample, if the conflicted user is relatively far from the device, thevolume may not need to be decreased as much as if the user wasrelatively near to the device to prevent the user from hearing theconflicting content. In some embodiments, users may select which usersthe parental control options may apply to (not shown in FIG. 8), forexample, a user may select that the parental control options apply toevery detected user or, alternatively, the user may select that theoptions apply to selected users or groups of users (e.g., age levels,access levels), or any other suitable configuration. These configurationoptions and any other suitable configuration option may be configuredwith parental control options 832. In some embodiments, a user with aconflict need not be within the detection region of a device to cause aconflict. For example, the user may be detected by any suitable devicenear a device providing conflicting content.

In some embodiments, device 300 may provide previously accessed contentto a new active user at the device. For example, if the last action auser previously performed on a device was download a new song, the usermay be provided an option to listen to that song when the user becomesactive at an other device. In some embodiments, recently downloadedmedia content may automatically continue to be provided at a device whenthe associated user becomes an active user at the device. In someembodiments, if the last action a user previously performed at a devicewas access media content, for example, a movie, the user may be providedan option to begin watching the movie from the point at which the userlast accessed the movie. Alternatively, the media content may beginplaying immediately. In some embodiments, the media content may beprovided at a point different than the point at which the user lastaccessed the content, for example, from the beginning of the content orsome suitable amount of time before or after the point.

In some embodiments, a user may adjust the actions a device may take inregard to previously accessed content when users are detected and/oridentified at the device with previously accessed content options 834.For example, a user may choose to have the previously accessed contentautomatically displayed. Alternatively, a user may choose to have thedevice display an option to continue access to the previously accessedcontent from a point within the content at which the user last accessedit, or at any other suitable point within the content. In someembodiments, these options and/or actions may be provided in relation toa new active user at a device even when there are active users alreadyactive at the device. In some embodiments, an option may be provided tocontinue the previously accessed content on a device other than thedevice at which the user had recently been detected and/or an option maybe provided to queue the previously accessed content to be providedafter currently accessed content has completed. Alternatively, theseoptions may occur automatically.

In some embodiments, a device may take particular actions when a user isdetected to no longer be active at a device (e.g., the user is no longerwithin the device's detection region). The inactivity may be temporary(e.g., the user left the device's detection region for a short time touse the restroom) or may be more prolonged (e.g., the user left thehousehold where the device is placed for the day). In some embodiments,a user may be removed from the list of active users and/or logged outfrom the device when a user is no longer active at the device.Information may be stored relating to, for example, when the user becameinactive, what content was being accessed, when point of the content wasbeing accessed, or any other suitable information relating to theactivity of a user prior to becoming inactive at the device. In someembodiments, the user may be added to a list of inactive users at thedevice. Information related to the user's activity and/or inactivity, orany other suitable information may be included in the list of inactiveusers and/or associated with users on the list of inactive users and/ormay be stored in any suitable location.

In some embodiments, a device may automatically pause content when auser is detected to have left the detection region. In some embodiments,a user may configure these options using leaving user options 840. Insome embodiments, a device may be configured to provide an option toprovide currently accessed media content on another device when a userleaves the current device's detection region. For example, a user maywant to continue viewing the media content on their mobile device (e.g.,a cell phone) as they leave the detection region of a device displayingthe media content. In some embodiments, a device may be configured tochange provided content when a user is detected to have left thedetection region. The content may change to other content based onprofiles associated with users who remain within the detection region ofthe device. For example, a husband, who is a fan of action movies, maybe watching the latest romance movie with his wife. The wife may need toleave the detection region temporarily. When the wife leaves thedetection region, the device may provide an option to display an actionmovie in which the husband had previously shown interest (e.g., thehusband viewed detailed information about the action movie), any othercontent based on a profile associated with the husband, or any othersuitable content.

In some embodiments, advertisements may change as the set of activeusers at a device change. For example, targeted advertisements may betargeted to both the husband and wife while they are both within thedetection region of a device. For example, an advertisement for aromantic getaway vacation may be displayed to the husband and wife. Ifthe wife leaves the detection region, subsequent advertisement may betargeted only to the husband. In some embodiments, when a user leavesthe detection region, the user or any other suitable user may be able toaffirm that the leaving user has left only temporarily and/or that theuser has left for a more prolonged period of time. In some embodiments,the content changes may occur automatically. Any other suitable actionor options associated with a user leaving a device may be configuredwith leaving user options 840.

In some embodiments, a device may take particular actions when a user isdetected to have returned to a device after leaving the device'sdetection region for less than a predetermined time-period. Thepredetermined time-period may be any suitable length of time (e.g., fiveminutes) and may in itself be configurable by a user and/or systemoperator. The predetermined time-period and actions associated with areturning user may be configured by a user with returning user options850. For example, a user may configure a device to automatically resumecontent if the content was paused when the user left the device'sdetection region. If the content was not paused, the device mayautomatically rewind the content to the point at which it was detectedthat the user left the device's detection region. In some embodiments,the device may provide the content from any other suitable point withinthe content (e.g., a several seconds before the point at which it wasdetected that the user left the device's detection region). If thecontent was changed to different content when the user left the device'sdetection region, the device may change the content back to the originalcontent when the user returns to the device's detection region. If thecontent was provided to another user device when the user left thedevice's detection region (i.e., the user became active at the otheruser device), the content may be provided to the original device andresume the content from any suitable point when the user returns withinthe device's detection region (e.g., a point in the content lastaccessed by the last device at which the user accessed the content).

In some embodiments, if the user becomes active at another device afterleaving the original device's detection region, the other device maycommunicate the user's activity on the other device to the originaldevice. For example, the other device may communicate that the user iscontinuing to access media content on the other device. The originaldevice may use the information regarding the user's movement andactivity to update the device's active and inactive user listsappropriately. For example, the original device may set the user astemporarily inactive when the user leaves the original device'sdetection region. When the user becomes active at another device, theother device may communicate the user's activity to the original device.Then the original device may set the user as inactive. Upon setting theuser as inactive, the original device may provide different content moresuitable for users still active at the original device.

In some embodiments, content may be paused when the user leaves theoriginal device. When the other device communicates that the user isactive at the other device, the original device may unpause the contentso that the remaining users at the original device may continue to enjoythe content. For example, the other users do not need to wait for theuser who left to return. The two groups of users may continue to watchthe content simultaneously on two different devices.

In some embodiments, if the two groups of users reunite at a particulardevice (e.g., the original device or the other device), the content maybe provided from substantially the point in the content where the userwho made the least progress in the content left off. For example, user1and user2 are at device1 accessing content1. User1 leaves device1 andmoves to device2. In the mean time, user2 continues accessing content1.User1 then becomes active at device2 and begins to continue to accesscontent1. However, time lapsed between user1 leaving device1 andbecoming active at device2. Thus, user2 is further along in content1then user1. User1 may then leave device2 and return device1 to continueaccessing content1 with user2. Device1 may then rewind content1 to apoint in content1 where user1 last accessed content1. In this example,user2 may reaccess portions of content1 that user2 had already accessed,however, user1 can continue to access content1 without missing a portionof content1. In some embodiments, an option may be provided for theseactions as opposed to automatically performing the options. In someembodiments, these and any other suitable configuration options may beconfigured from options 850.

In some embodiments, screen 800 may include default option 866, saveoption 868, cancel option 870, done option 872, info option 874, videowindow 880, logo 882, and advertisement 884, which may be substantiallysimilar to default option 656, save option 658, cancel option 660, doneoption 662, info option 664, video window 670, logo 680, andadvertisement 690 of FIG. 6, respectively, each of which may be placedin any suitable location and in any suitable configuration within screen800.

It should be noted that although screen 500, screen 600, screen 700, andscreen 800 are illustrated as full-screen displays, some or all of theoptions of the screens may be displayed as an overlay on top of or inthe same screen as a displayed media content or media content listingsor in any other suitable configuration. In the screens are accessed by auser at, for example, media device 300 of FIG. 3, device 300 may adjustthe size and navigation (e.g., cursor movement or selection) of thescreens to conform to display characteristics of device 300. It shouldbe noted that the configuration options are not limited to thosedescribed herein, but any other suitable configuration option may beprovided for within the scope of the configuration screens describedherein. The configuration options may be provided in any suitable mannerand in any suitable combination. For example, the options illustrated byscreen 600 may be combined with the options illustrated by screen 700 inany suitable manner to ease user access and configuration. In someembodiments, the screens and/or the options described by them may noteven be accessible by users; instead the configurations may only be setby system operators, producers of the devices, or any other suitableparty.

In some embodiments, list of current active users 910 may be displayedon a device's display as shown in illustrative display 900 of FIG. 9.List 910 may include identification associated with the current activeusers, for example, names (e.g., name 912 and name 916) and/or pictures(e.g., picture 914 and picture 918) associated with the users, and/orany other suitable identification means.

In some embodiments, list of detected users 920 may be displayed on adevice's display when a user is detected by a device. These users may ormay not have access rights to the device and may or may not eventuallybe logged into the device and/or added to the respective device's listof active users. In some embodiments, list 920 may include users whichthe device detects, but whom may not be within the detection region, ormay not have access rights to the device. In some embodiments, list 920may list users when the users are being authenticated by the device, asillustrated by name 922, picture 924, and status 926. Status 926 may beused to provide any suitable information regarding the status of a userin addition to, or alternatively to, information regarding theauthentication of a user. For example, status 926 may provideinformation regarding the success of failure of the authenticationattempts of user.

Active user list 910 and detected user list 920 may be provided in anysuitable form and location within a device's display. For example, list910 and list 920 may be provided temporarily and/or permanently aroundthe border of displayed media 930, media content listings 940, and/oradvertisement 950. List 910 and list 920 may be displayed when a newevent occurs, for example, when another user is detected and/or when auser actives a function on the device, or when any other suitable eventoccurs. In some embodiments, list 910 and list 920 may never bedisplayed to users and/or may be kept private and/or confidential. Forexample, in such embodiments, only system operators may have access tothe information contained in list 910 and list 920. In some embodiments,list 910 and list 920 may be maintained locally at the correspondingdevice, at another user's device, and/or at any suitable system device.For example, the list of active users and/or detected users at a firstdevice may be stored and maintained on user's second device and/or at acable headend. In some embodiments, the information contained in list910 and list 920 may be audible instead of, or in addition to,displaying the information contained in the lists. For example, a devicemay state aloud that user Jerry has been detected and is beingauthenticated instead of displaying such information.

It should be noted that display 900 of FIG. 9 is illustrative. Theelements of display 900 may be oriented in any suitable manner, placedin any suitable location, and may have any suitable properties indisplay 900. For example, list 910 may be provided as a translucentoverlay over media 930. In some embodiments, media 930 may be anysuitable media content, media content listings 940 may be any suitablemedia content listings, advertisement 950 may be any suitableadvertisement, for example, advertisement 950 may be substantiallysimilar to advertisement 884 of FIG. 8.

After a user is successfully authenticated and/or on the list of activeusers at a device, the newly active user may be displayed in an activeuser list with the user's corresponding identification and/or pictureand other currently active users, as illustrated by active user list1010, identification 1012, and picture 1014 in display 1000 of FIG. 10.Alternatively, or additionally, the status of the user may be displayedwith status 1026. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, status 1026states “Jerry Successfully Authenticated!” After a user is successfullydetected, identified and/or authenticated, or at any other suitabletime, a device may display information associated with the newlyauthenticated user's last activity. For example, as illustrated in FIG.10, last activity list 1030 may display that Jerry's last activity wasto download an episode of the TV program, “Seinfeld.” In someembodiments, list 1030 may display a user's last several activities. Forexample, list 1030 may display that Jerry also watched a video-on-demandmovie before, during, or after downloading the episode of Seinfeld.

In some embodiments, users may be presented with last activity option1032 after a user is successfully detected, identified, and/orauthenticated, or at any other suitable time. By selecting option 1032,a user or users may continue the last activity the user or usersperformed before becoming active users at the current device. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 10, users at the device may watchJerry's latest download. In some embodiments, option 1032 may provideaccess to the last several activities a user or users last performed.Alternatively, or additionally, option 1032 may not be provided, and thelast activity may be automatically continued when a user isauthenticated, detected, or at any other suitable time. When mediacontent is selected to be accessed via option 1032, the accessed contentmay be resumed from a point in the content at which the user hadpreviously left off, from the beginning of the content, another pointsubstantially near the point at which the user had previously left off,or any other suitable point within the content. For example, if Jerry ofFIG. 10 last viewed a movie at the device where Jerry was last active,the movie may be provided at the device Jerry newly became active, andthe movie may be provided from the point within the movie that Jerrylast viewed. The actions taken by the device that detected Jerry may beconfigured, for example, using the configuration options illustrated byFIGS. 5-8.

In some embodiments, display 1000 may include media 1040, media listings1050, and advertisement 1060, which may be substantially similar tomedia 930, media listings 940, and advertisement 950 of FIG. 9,respectively.

In some embodiments, a device may provide options to active users at thedevice when one or more of the active users are detected to have leftthe detection region of the device and are therefore no longer active.For example, as illustrated in display 1100 of FIG. 11, George, Elaine,and Jerry were accessing first media content together, until Elaine leftthe detection region of the device. When Elaine is no longer detected bythe device, status 1102 may be displayed to denote such an event. Insome embodiments, status 1102 may be purely auditory instead, or inaddition to, a displayed status 1102. In some embodiments, status 1102may not be visible or audible to users and may only be accessible tosystem operators. When Elaine leaves the detection region of the device,the device and/or any other suitable device stores various informationrelated to Elaine. For example, the device may store at which device shewas last active (e.g., the current device), what content she wasaccessing, last several actions performed by Elaine, last severalcontents accessed by Elaine, at what point within the content she wasdetected to have left the device, some indicator indicating when Elaineleft the device (e.g., a timestamp or a counter), or any other suitableinformation. The stored information may be stored, transferred, and/orcopied to any other suitable device, for example, a mobile deviceassociated with Elaine, a central server, another device near thecurrent location, or another device at a different location.

In some embodiments, the device may provide options to remaining userswhen another user leaves the detection region of a device as illustratedby options window 1110. Options window 1110 may provide users with pauseoption 1112 which may allow the remaining active users to pause thecurrent content and wait for the other user to return. Rewind option1114 may also be provided which may allow the current content tocontinue playing uninterrupted until the user who left returns to thedevice, at which point the content may rewind to the point at which theuser left. Mobile device relocation option 1116 may be provided to allowthe content to continue playing on a mobile device. In some embodiments,the mobile device may be the mobile device of the user who left. If thisoption is selected, the content may continue playing on the mobiledevice from the current point in the content or any other suitable pointwithin the content. Option 1118 may be provided to allow users to selectto provide the content on any other media device. For example, if Elainehas gotten tired and prefers to continue access of the content from herbedroom, she may select to have to content provided at a device in herbedroom. The device in her bedroom may or may not have user detectioncapabilities.

If the device does have user detection capabilities, the device mayautomatically resume the content, or provide an option to resume thecontent, when Elaine is detected within that device's detection region.In some embodiments, if a user becomes active and/or resumes content onanother device, the other device may send this, or other suitableinformation to the previously accessed device. This may allow, forexample, the previously accessed device to adjust information associatedwith the user. For example, the device may assume the user may notreturn to the original device within the near future because the otheruser has become active at another device. Additionally, when the newdevice detects Elaine, that device may perform newly active user actionssubstantially similar to those described with regard to FIGS. 5-10.

In some embodiments, the remaining users at a device may choose tochange the provided content when a user has left the detection region ofthe device. For example, George, Jerry, and Elaine may be watching aromance movie and Elaine leaves the detection region the device. Despitethe fact that all three users were watching a romance movie together,Jerry and George may in fact be more inclined to enjoy some othercontent, for example, an action movie. This may be determined by Jerryand George themselves, or may be determined automatically based on anyrelevant information as described above with regard to merged profileoptions 810. In some embodiments, change media option 1120 may beprovided to allow the remaining users to change provided content toanother, more desirable content for the remaining users. Upon selectionof option 1120, users may select recommended content that matches theirprofiles as described above with regard to merged profile options 810.

In some embodiments, options window 1110 may provide any other suitableoption in response to detecting that a user has left the detectionregion of a device. In some embodiments, all or some of the options inoptions window 1110 may be provided and/or performed automatically. Forexample, provided content may automatically pause when a user isdetected to have left the detection region of a device, or, for example,content may automatically change to another media content suitable forthe remaining users when a user is detected to have left the detectionregion of a device.

In some embodiments, options window 1110 may be audible instead, or inaddition to, being displayed. The options in options window 1110 may beconfigured, for example, using the configuration options illustrated byFIGS. 5-8. In some embodiments, display 1100 may include media 1140,media listings 1150, and advertisement 1160, which may be substantiallysimilar to media 930, media listings 940, and advertisement 950 of FIG.9, respectively.

In some embodiments, the user who left the detection region of thedevice described above with regard to FIG. 11 may return to the devicewithin a relatively short period of time (i.e., the user's absent fromthe detection region was temporary, as opposed to a prolonged period oftime, for example, a five-minute absence may be considered temporary,while a absence of 5 hours may be considered prolonged). This period maybe determined based on information associated with the returning userthat may have been stored as described above with regard to FIG. 11. Thelength of the period may be predetermined, and/or configured by a useror system operator using, for example, the configuration option displaysdescribed above with regard to FIGS. 5-8. If a user is absent for aperiod longer than the defined period, the user may be considered on aprolonged absence, which may mean that the device may take differentactions when and/or if the user returns to the device, for example, theactions described above with regard FIGS. 5-10 and new users. In someembodiments, devices may take the same actions regardless of whether auser is returning to a device after a temporary absence or after aprolonged absence. In some embodiments, the actions described herein asapplying to a temporarily absent user may apply to a user who was absentfor a prolonged period of time instead of, or in addition to, thetemporarily absent user, and vice versa.

If the user was temporarily absent and returns the actions the devicemay take may depend on what actions the device took when the user leftthe detection region of the device. For example, if content was pausedwhen the user left (e.g., by selecting option 1112), the content may beunpaused when the user returns. If content continued running when theuser left (e.g., by selecting option 1114), the content may rewind to apoint substantially near the point in the content at which it wasdetected that the user left. If the content was provided on anotherdevice in response to the user leaving (e.g., by selecting option 1116and/or option 1118), the content may stop being provided on the otherdevices. Additionally, the content on the devices may share informationabout the current point in the content on each device. The device towhich the user returned to may rewind accordingly. For example, if thecontent was being provided on both the original device for George andJerry, and another device for Elaine, however, Elaine paused the programon the other device before returning to the original device, theoriginal device and the other device may be at a different point withinthe content. As such, it may be desirable for the original device torewind the content to the earlier, or later, point at which the userswere last provided the content on their respective devices.

In some embodiments, if content was changed to another content when auser left a device, for example, by selecting option 1120, the devicemay change the other content back to the original content when the userreturns to the device, as illustrated by display 1200 of FIG. 12. Forexample, first media content may have been provided while George, Jerry,and Elaine were active users at a device. Then, Elaine may have becomeinactive, and in response, the device may provide second media contentto the remaining users, George and Jerry, as described above with regardto option 1120 of FIG. 11. When Elaine returns to the device, status1202 may indicate that Elaine is a returning user (e.g., Elaine wastemporarily absent from the device). Status 1204 may indicate that thedevice may return to the first media content because Elaine was detectedas returning. In some embodiments, the return to the first media contentmay occur automatically, and/or the device may provide an option toreturn to the first media content. In some embodiments, the device mayreturn to a point in the first media content wherein it was detectedthat the user left the device, a another point substantially near thepoint wherein it was detected that the user left the device, or anyother suitable point in the media content.

In some embodiments, a device may detect a user whose parental controlsettings may conflict with provided content. For example, as illustratedby display 1300 of FIG. 13, George, Elaine, and Jerry may be activeusers at a device which may be providing, for example, a rated “R”movie. At some point, it may be detected that another user, for exampleKramer, comes within the detection region of the device. Upon detectionof Kramer, the device may perform, inter alia, a parental controlconflict check and subsequently discover that Kramer's parental controlsettings are set such that Kramer may not view movies that are rated“R”. Since a rated “R” movie is being displayed on the device in thecurrent example, a parental control conflict has been discovered. Inresponse to the parental control conflict discovery (i.e., detectingthat there is an active user who conflicts with provided content), thedevice may take a particular action or actions. For example, the devicemay display parental control conflict detected window 1310 which mayprovide some options. In some embodiments, window 1310 may substantiallyobstruct the view of the displayed content which may prevent theconflicted user (i.e., the user whose parental control settings conflictwith the provided content) from viewing the conflict causing content. Insome embodiments, a device may not completely or substantially obstructthe view of the displayed content because, for example, the conflicteduser may be relatively far from the device providing the conflictproducing content. For example, the device may dim the display of thedevice sufficiently to prevent the conflicted user from viewing theconflict producing content. This may allow, for example, the activeusers at the device who do not conflict with the content to continue toenjoy the content by not obstructing their view of the content whilestill preventing a conflicted user from viewing the content.

Additionally, or alternatively, the device may decrease the volume levelof the device and/or mute the content to prevent the conflicted userfrom hearing the conflict causing content. In some embodiments, theamount the device decreases the volume level may be based on how far theconflicted user is from the device. For example, it may not be necessaryto mute conflict causing content if a user is relatively far away fromthe device providing conflict causing content, since the conflicted usermay not be able to hear the conflicted content if the volume of thecontent is decreased. As such, to prevent overly disturbing the use ofprovided content to active users, the volume of content may be decreasedinstead of muted based on the distance of the conflicted user to thedevice.

In some embodiments, the window 1310 may include option 1312 to shutdown the device and/or option 1314 to change the provided content. Insome embodiments, if option 1314 is selected, the device may providerecommendations for content that does not produce conflicts with anyactive user at the device, or alternatively, provide a complete list ofthe available media. For example, recommended content may include anyother suitable media content and/or an edited version of the providedcontent that conflicts with a user. For example, the edited version maybe substantially the same content as the provided content; however,profane language and/or adult content, or any other objectionablematerial may be edited, altered, and/or removed to produce an editedversion of the provided content that may not conflict with parentalcontrols of a user. The edited content may be stored in any suitablesystem and/or local device, and/or the production of the edited contentmay be provided in real-time. For example, a device may detect profanelanguage in content and automatically edit the profane language out ifan active user's parental control settings would conflict with thedetected profane language.

If content is changed, the device, or any suitable device, may recordinformation associated with the active users and content so that theactive users which do not conflict with the content may resume access tothe content from a point in the content substantially near the point inthe content where the content was changed. For example, when the userthat conflicts with the content is no longer detected, the originallyprovided content may be resumed from the point in the content where thedevice changed the content (e.g., when a user who conflicts with theoriginally provided content was detected).

In some embodiments, the content may continue to run behind window 1310normally, muted, and/or dimmed. In such an embodiment, the content mayrewind to the point at which a conflict was detected when the conflicteduser is no longer detected by the device. In some embodiments, thecontent may be paused while behind window 1310, muted, and/or dimmed. Insuch an embodiment, the content may unpause when the conflicted user isno longer detected by the device.

In some embodiments, the parental control settings may provide an optionthat may allow user to have different parental control settings if theuser is active on the same device with another particular user. Forexample, parents may not want their child to watch rated “R” movies,unless at least one parent is around. This may allow content to bedisplayed despite the content conflicting with an active user withoutrequiring additional manual input from any user.

In some embodiments, the parental control settings may be used forprivacy purposes. For example, a user may not want another user to seesome content that the user is accessing. For example, a first user maywant to access their financial information using a device, but does notwant a second user to view their financial information. The first usermay set up a control such that if they are viewing their financialinformation and the second user is detected, the device may performactions similar to that of when the device detects parental controlconflicts. As a practical example, the first user may view theirfinancial information on the device. Unbeknownst to the first user, thesecond user comes within viewing distance of the device. The devicedetects the second user and determines there is a conflict between thecontent and the second user. In response, the device may perform actionssimilar to those described above with regard to parental controls.

It should be noted, that a device may perform any suitable number of theactions described above with regard to parental and privacy controls.Additionally, the actions performed may be automatic and/or the devicemay provide options to active the actions in any suitable fashion. Theaforementioned and/or any other suitable parental and privacy controlsmay be activated in response to any suitable user detection. Forexample, the controls may be activated whether or not a conflicted useris authorized on the device, whether or not a conflicted user is withinthe device's detection region, or in any other suitable manner. Forexample, the controls may be activated in response to detecting a userregardless of whether the user has been identified and/or authorized.The actions performed and how they are performed may be configured usingthe configuration screens as described above with regard to FIGS. 5-8.

In some embodiments, one or more users active on a device may haveconfigured a reminder associated with them to trigger at a particulartime. This reminder may be displayed at the appropriate time at a deviceeven if there are other active users at the device, as illustrated bydisplay 1400 of FIG. 14. For example, reminder window may be displayedwhen the reminder is triggered for Jerry and Elaine. In this example,George has not set up a reminder for the same content, and therefore,may not be interested in viewing the content. As such, it may bedesirable to provide options that may allow the active users to decidewhether or not they will access the reminded content, and if so, wherewill they access it. For example, they may choose to access the contentat the current device by selecting watch here option 1412. They maychoose to access the content at different devices by selecting watch ona different device option 1414 and/or selecting watch on a mobile deviceoption 1416. In some embodiments, the users may choose to ignore thereminder by selecting ignore option 1418. In some embodiments, some orall of these options may occur automatically instead of, or in additionto, being provided as selectable options.

In some embodiments, reminder window 1410 may be audible instead, or inaddition to, being displayed. The options in reminder window 1410 may beconfigured, for example, using the configuration options as illustratedby FIGS. 5-8. In some embodiments, display 1400 may include media 1440,media listings 1450, and advertisement 1460, which may be substantiallysimilar to media 930, media listings 940, and advertisement 950 of FIG.9, respectively.

In some embodiments, an event log, for example event log 1500 of FIG. 15may be created and/or maintained at any suitable user device, or anysuitable system device, or any other suitable device, for example, mediaguidance data source 418 of FIG. 4. Event log 1500 may store anysuitable data regarding the use, activation, and/or actions preformed atand/or by a device or devices. For example, event log 1500 may includewho may be active at a particular device at a given time, when they weredetected by the device, when they were detected to leave a device, eventtargeting operations, any other event and/or action described herein, orany other suitable event and/or action. Event log 1500 may be used fordebugging purposes (e.g., if an error occurs during activation of anaction), or may be used to determine, for example, where a user was lastactive and what content that user last accessed. Such information may beuseful when the user returns to that device or moves to another deviceto determine what actions the respective devices may perform upondetection of the user, for example, to continue access of media contentat one device that was previously accessed at another device, asdescribed herein.

In some embodiments, user data 1600 of FIG. 16 may be created and/ormaintained to provide information associated with a user. User data 1600may contain various fields that identify the user or users to which userdata 1600 is associated. For example, user data 1600 may include userfield 1610, last device field 1612, last action field 1614, stop pointfield 1616, media location filed 1618, and known devices field 1620.User data 1600 may be created, stored, and/or maintained in any suitablelocation at any suitable device, for example, on user devices and/orsystem operator devices, such as, a server. In some embodiments, userdata 1600 may be transferred to and/or from any device to any suitabledevice. For example, when a user approaches a new device, user data 1600may be copied from a mobile device associated with the user to the newdevice. This may provide the new device any suitable informationpertaining to the associated user, for example, the user's previousactivities, age, last location, or any other data provided for in userdata 1600.

User field 1610 may include the user or users for which user data 1600is associated. The user may be identified by name, user identification,or any other suitable identification method. Last device field 1612 mayinclude the last and/or recent device or devices used by the user orusers, for example, field 1612 may list the last device at which theuser accessed media content. Last action field 1614 may include the lastaction or actions performed by the user or users. Field 1614 mayprovided information pertaining to any suitable user action, forexample, downloading content, watching content, pausing content,rewinding content, fast forwarding content, setting reminders,recording, surfing the internet, getting detailed information aboutcontent, configuring devices, or any other suitable user action. If theuser last accessed content, stop point field 1616 may be provided inuser data 1600 to provide information regarding the point in the contentat which the user last accessed the content. For example, if the userlast watched a movie, but stopped 16 minutes and 37 seconds into themovie, stop point field 1616 may include that time. This information maybe used by a device to resume the content from the point at which thecontent was last accessed when the user becomes active at the device.

In some embodiments, media content may be stored in any suitablelocation, for example, user devices and/or system devices. In suchembodiments, user data 1600 may include content location field 1618which may provide information pertaining to the storage location of, forexample, content last accessed by the user. This may, for example, beuseful when a device attempts to resume the content when, for example,the content is not locally stored on the device.

In some embodiments, user data 1600 may contain information pertainingto a device or devices that are known to the associated user or usersin, for example, known device field 1620. Devices in known device field1620 may include devices at which the associated user was active,devices detected by another user device associated with the user,devices that detected the user, devices manually entered into user data1600 by any suitable user or system operator, or any other suitabledevice. Known device field 1620 may additionally contain informationpertaining to the known devices themselves in device information field1622. Device information field 1622 may include device type field 1624,authorization level 1626, contact information field 1628, devicelocation field 1630, or any other suitable field that describe adevice's characteristics.

Device type field 1624 may contain information pertaining to what typeof device is the device. For example, the device may be a mobile,set-top box, or any other suitable device as described above with regardto FIGS. 3 and 4. Authorization level 1626 may contain informationregarding the associated user or users level of authorized access to thedevice. For example, the user may have full access at a particulardevice, may be blocked from a device, or may not be authorized at adevice, or any other suitable access level as described above withregard to FIG. 7. In some embodiments, devices may have contactinformation associated with them. Contact information field 1628 maycontain the contact information so that users and/or devices may contactthe listed device. For example, contact information field 1628 mayinclude a phone number, IP address, MAC address, available ports,accepted communication protocols, or any other suitable informationrequired to contact the device in any suitable manner. Device locationfield 1630 may be included in device information field 1622 to provideinformation pertaining to the device's location. For example, a devicemay be in any suitable location, for example, a room in a user'shousehold. In some embodiments, device may be mobile. In suchembodiments, device location field 1630 may state simply that the deviceis mobile, or alternatively, or additionally, field 1630 may state thedevice's last known whereabouts or current location. Current locationmay include, for example, longitude/latitude coordinates, location withrespect to another device, household, street location, city, state,country, or any other suitable connotation of location.

FIG. 17 shows illustrative process 1700 for detecting a user or users inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention. At step 1710a first user is within the detection region of a first media device. Insome embodiments, the user may be detected by the first media device, orany other suitable device, but not be within the detection region of thefirst device, as discussed above. At step 1712, if the user is withinthe device's detection region, the user is added to a list of activeusers at the first media device, as discussed above. For example, theuser may be added to the list of active users that may be stored instorage 308 and/or user input interface 310 of FIG. 3. This may includeauthenticating the user and/or logging the user into the device, or anysuitable combination thereof using, for example, processing circuitry306 of FIG. 3. In some embodiments, the user may be added to the list ofactive users if the user is detected and/or identified, but not withinthe detection region of the first device. At step 1714, previouslyaccessed media content is provided on, for example, display 312 of FIG.3. The media content may have been accessed previously by the first userat the current device or any other suitable device, as discussed above.Further, the media content may be provided at any suitable point withinthe content, for example, from the point last accessed by the user, asdescribed above.

At step 1716, a second user is detected within the detection region ofthe first media device. At step 1718, the second user is also be addedto the list of active user, for example, when the second user is withinthe detection region of the media device. At step 1720, an option isprovided to resume previously accessed second media content that wasaccessed by the second user, for example, at another device or any otherdevice, as discussed above. The actions taken by the device may beautomatic and/or configured as described above. For example, apreviously accessed media content may automatically resume instead of,or in addition to, the option provided in, for example, step 1720.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 1700 may be combinedwith other step, performed in any suitable order, performed in parallel(e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously), or removed. Forexample, the first and second users of step 1710 and step 1716,respectively, may be detected within the detection region at the sametime.

FIG. 18 shows illustrative process 1800 for supporting actions a devicemay take after detection of a user or users in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention. At step 1810 a user or users isdetected within the detection region of a first media device asdiscussed in connection with step 1710 and step 1716 of FIG. 17. At step1812, the users are added to a list of active users at the first mediadevice as discussed in connection with step 1712 and step 1718 of FIG.17. At step 1814, first media content is provided at the first mediadevice. The media content may be any suitable media content, forexample, as discussed above in connection with step 1714 and/or step1720 of FIG. 17, the media content may be content previously accessed byone or more of the active users at the device. In some embodiments,reminders may be provided which are associated with one or more of theactive users at a device. For example, as illustrated by step 1816, areminder associated with the first user for second media content isprovided. The reminder may be provided as described in connection withreminder window 1410 of FIG. 14. The second media content is provided atstep 1818 if, for example, the users request access to the second mediacontent in response to viewing the reminder. In some embodiments, thesecond media may be provided automatically. As discussed in connectionwith FIG. 14, the reminded content may be provided, for example, at anysuitable device.

In addition, or alternatively to the provided reminders of step 1816, atstep 1820, advertisements are provided based on profiles associated withuser in the list of active users. For example, the advertisements may betargeted to the active users at the device as discussed above inconnection with FIG. 8.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 1800 may be combinedwith other steps, performed in any suitable order, performed in parallel(e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously), or removed. Forexample, the reminder provided at step 1816 may be providedsubstantially simultaneously with the advertisement provided at step1820.

FIG. 19 shows illustrative process 1900 for supporting actions a devicemay take in regards to parental control conflict check in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention. At step 1910, at leastone user is detected within the detection region of a first mediadevice. The detection process, detection region, and media device may besimilar to the detection process, detection region, and media devicediscussed above in connection with FIG. 17. After detecting that atleast one user has entered the detection region, the process may proceedto step 1912, where it is determined whether the at least one user isauthorized to access the first media device. The authorizationdetermination may be similar to the determination discussed inconnection with authorization setting of FIG. 7. If the at least oneuser is authorized, the at least one user is added to the list of activeusers at the first media device at step 1914, as described above inconnection with FIG. 17.

At step 1916, first media content is provided at the first media device.The media content may be any suitable media content, for example,content as discussed above in connection with step 1714 and/or step 1720of FIG. 17, the media content may be content previously accessed by oneor more of the active users at the device. At step 1918, another user isdetected near the first user device. In some embodiments, the user maybe within the detection region or, alternatively, the use may just bewithin a detectable range to the media device. At step 1920, a parentalcontrol conflict check is performed on the newly detected user. Theconflict check may performed as discussed above in connection with upondetection menu 830 of FIG. 8 and parental control conflict detectedwindow 1310 of FIG. 13, for example, the conflict check may comparecharacteristics of the provided media with parental control settings ofthe newly detected user. The conflict check may be performed using, forexample, circuitry 306 of FIG. 3. At step 1922, it is determined whetheror not a parental control conflict was detected during the conflictcheck performed at step 1920. If there is a conflict, the device maytake any suitable action, for example, the actions described by step1924 or step 1926. At step 1924, the device changes the provided firstmedia content to another media content that does not conflict with, forexample, any of the active users and/or the newly detected user.

Alternately, or additionally, the device may proceed to step 1926 andshut off the first media content in response to determining that aconflict does exist. Shutting off the media content may include, forexample, removing the content from the display and/or halting access tothe content. In some embodiments, the media device may continue toaccess the content, but not provide any indication that the device isaccessing the content. This may allow, for example, the device to recorda broadcasted program, or any other suitable media content, while theprogram is removed from the device's display for user conflict purposes.This may allow users who do not conflict with the program to continuewatching the broadcasted program without any discontinuity (e.g.,continue watching the program from the point at which display wasremoved) once the user who conflicts with the program is no longerdetected. The process of step 1924 and step 1926 may be substantiallysimilar as described above in connection with menu 830 of FIG. 8 andwindow 1310 of FIG. 13.

After any parental control conflicts are resolved, it is be determinedwhether the newly detected user is with the detection region of thefirst media device at step 1928, as described above in connection withstep 1910. If the user is within the detection region, it is determinedwhether the user is authorized to access the first media device at step1930, as described above in connection with step 1912. At step 1932, thenewly detected user is added to the list of active users at the firstmedia device if the user is authorized to access the first media device.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 1900 may be combinedwith other steps, performed in any suitable order, performed in parallel(e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously), or removed. Forexample, the parental control conflict check of step 1920 mayadditionally be performed when the at least one user of step 1910 isdetected.

FIG. 20 shows illustrative process 2000 for supporting actions a devicemay take when a user is detected to no longer be within the detectionregion of a device in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinvention. At step 2010, a first user on the list of active users atfirst device is detected to have left the detection region of the firstmedia device. The user may be detected to no longer be within thedetection region of the device as described above in connection withleaving user options 840 of FIG. 8 and options window 1110 of FIG. 11.At step 2012, the user is removed from the list of active users upondetection that the user is no longer within the detection region of thedevice. The removal of the user from the list of active users may beperformed as discussed in connection with FIG. 8 and FIG. 11. At step2013, the point in the first media content being currently accessed isstored in, for example, storage 308, user input interface 310 of FIG. 3,and/or any other suitable user and/or system device. This may allow thefirst media device or any other device to reaccess the first mediacontent from the point at, or substantially the same point, at which thefirst user last accessed the first media content. In some embodiments,if a first media content was being provided prior to the first userleaving the first media device, the first media content may be providedon another media device at step 2014, for example, as described above inconnection with leaving user options 840 of FIG. 8 and options window1110 of FIG. 11. For example, the first media content may be provided ona mobile phone associated with the first user.

At step 2016, it is determined whether there are other users who remainon the list of active users at the device. The determination may becompleted by, for example, processing circuitry 306 of FIG. 3. If usersremain on the list of active users after the first user is removed fromthe list, it may be assumed that those users are still accessing thefirst media content at the device. Otherwise, if there are no users whoremain on the list, it may be assumed that there are no users stillaccessing the first media content at the device. As such, if there noother users who remain at the device, it may not be necessary to leavethe device active. In such embodiments, the process may proceed to step2018, where the first media device is shutdown. The first media devicemay be shutdown as described above in connection with FIG. 8 and FIG.11.

If users do remain at the first media device, the process may proceed tostep 2020, where second media content is found. The second media contentmay be based on the remaining users in the list of active users, forexample, as described above in connection with options 840 of FIG. 8 andoptions window 1110 of FIG. 11. The second media may be located in, forexample, storage 308 of FIG. 3 and/or media content source 416 of FIG.4. At step 2022, it is determined whether suitable second media contentwas found. If so, the process may proceed to step 2024 to provide thefound second media content.

Alternatively, (e.g., if no other suitable content is found) the processmay proceed to step 2026 and/or step 2028. At step 2026, the devicecontinues to provide the first media content. In this scenario, theusers at the device may not notice any disruption in their access of thefirst media content between a time before the first user left the deviceand a time after the first user left the device. At step 2028, the firstmedia is paused in response to the first user leaving the detectionregion, for example, in anticipation that the first user may return tothe device.

At step 2030, the first user is detected to have returned to the firstmedia device. The detection may be performed as discussed above inconnection with step 1710 and step 1716 of FIG. 17. After the detectingthe returned first user, the process may proceed to step 2032, where thefirst user is readded to the list of active users at the first mediadevice. The readding of the first user may be performed as describedabove in connection with FIGS. 8 and 17. At step 2034, the first mediacontent is provided from a point in the first media at which the firstuser was removed from the list of active users. For example, if thefirst media content continued to be accessed when the first user leftthe first media device, as described in connection with step 2026, thefirst media content may be rewound to the point, or substantially nearthe point, at which the first user was removed from the list of activeusers. If the first media was paused when the first user left the mediadevice, as described in connection with step 2028, the first mediacontent may be unpaused. If second media content was provided when thefirst user left the first media device, the first media content may beprovided again from the point at which the first user was removed fromthe list of active users. In some embodiments, the first media may beaccessed from the point at which the first media content was lastaccessed by the first users. For example, if the first media content wasprovided on another media device, as described in connection with step2014, the first user may have continued to access the media content onthe other device beyond the point in the media content at which thefirst user was removed from the list of active users while, for example,the users who remain at the first media device continue to concurrentlyaccess the first media content. Thus, in such a situation it may bedesirable to provide the first media content from a point in the firstmedia content last accessed by the first user. In some embodiments, thefirst media content may be provided upon the return of the first user tothe first media device in any suitable manner, for example, as discussedabove in connection with options 850 of FIG. 8 and FIG. 12.

In practice, one or more steps shown in process 2000 may be combinedwith other steps, performed in any suitable order, performed in parallel(e.g., simultaneously or substantially simultaneously), or removed. Forexample, the first media content may be provided on another media deviceas described above in connection with step 2014, while substantiallysimultaneously second media content may be provided on the first mediadevice as described above in connection with step 2024.

The above described embodiments of the present invention are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentinvention is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for automatically changing media contentdisplayed on a media device when properties of the media contentconflict with settings associated with a user, the method comprising:determining that the media device has a detection mechanism, wherein thedetection mechanism is operable to detect a user within a firstdetectable range relative to the media device; setting a first detectionregion associated with the media device and with a first user, whereinthe first detection region is within the first detectable range;detecting the first user within the first detection region; generating adisplay of a first media content on the media device when the first useris within the first detection region, wherein properties of the firstmedia content do not conflict with first settings associated with thefirst user; detecting a second user within the first detectable range;comparing second settings associated with the second user with theproperties of the first media content when the second user is within thefirst detectable range; interrupting display of the first media contentwhen the second settings conflict with the properties of the first mediacontent; detecting that the second user has left the first detectablerange; and resuming the display of the first media content fromsubstantially a point within the first media content at which the firstmedia content was interrupted upon detecting that the second user leftthe first detectable range.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: theinterrupting further comprises stopping the display of the first mediacontent and generating for display on the media device a second mediacontent different from the first media content; and properties of thesecond media content do not conflict with the second settings associatedwith the second user.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein: the secondsettings include a parental control setting; the properties of the firstmedia content include a rating of the first media content; and theparental control setting conflicts with the rating of the first mediacontent.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the properties of the secondmedia content include a rating of the second media content, and theparental control setting does not conflict with the rating of the secondmedia content.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein: the second mediacontent is previously accessed media content having a playback endpointat which a previous playback was halted; the interrupting furthercomprises providing an option to resume the display of the second mediacontent at the point within the second media content; and the resumingis performed in response to receiving an acceptance of the option toresume the display of the second media content.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising: providing an option to resume the display of thefirst media content, wherein the resuming is performed in response toreceiving an acceptance of the option to resume the display of the firstmedia content.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the media device is afirst media device, and the resuming further comprises resuming thedisplay of the first media content on a second media device differentfrom the first media device.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising generating for display a reminder for the second user toaccess second media content different from the first media content. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein: the interrupting further comprisesproviding an option to display second media content different from thefirst media content; and properties of the second media content do notconflict with the second settings associated with the second user. 10.The method of claim 9, further comprising, in response to receiving anacceptance of the option to display second media content, generating fordisplay on the media device the second media content.